Dr. Jack Kevorkian dead at 83

[웃 910]

Dr. Jack Kevorkian dead at 83

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the Michigan pathologist who put assisted suicide on the world's medical ethics stage, died early Friday, according to a spokesman with Beaumont Hospital. He was 83.

The assisted-suicide advocate had been hospitalized in Michigan for pneumonia and a kidney-related ailment, his attorney Mayer Morganroth has said.

The music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Kevorkian's favorite musician, was put on the intercom so he could hear the music as he was dying, Morganroth said.

The 83-year-old former pathologist had struggled with kidney problems for years and had checked into a hospital earlier this month for similar problems, his lawyer, Mayer Morganroth, told CNN last month. He checked back into Beaumont Hospital in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak on May 18 after suffering a relapse, Morganroth said.

Kevorkian, dubbed "Dr. Death," made national headlines as a supporter of physician-assisted suicide and "right-to-die" legislation. He was charged with murder numerous times through the 1990s for helping terminally ill patients take their own lives.

He was convicted on second-degree murder charges in 1999 stemming from the death of a patient who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease. He was paroled in 2007.

After his release, he said he would not help end any more lives.

In an interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta last year, Kevorkian said he had no regrets about his work.

"No, no. It's your purpose (as a) physician. How can you regret helping a suffering patient?" he said.

In that interview, Kevorkian said that he had three missions in life and that he himself was not ready to die.

One of his missions was to warn mankind of "impending doom" that will come from the culture of overabundance.

"I'm not going to be too popular for that one," he said.

His second mission was to educate people about assisted suicide, and his belief that in states where assisted suicide has been legalized, it is not being done right. He believed that people shouldn't have to be terminal in order to qualify for help in ending their own lives.

Kevorkian's third stated mission was to convince Americans that their rights are being infringed upon by bans on everything from smoking to assisted suicide.

In 2008, at the age of 79, he had a failed run for Congress in Michigan.

Morganroth told the Detroit Free Press it appears Kevorkian suffered a pulmonary thrombosis when a blood clot from his leg broke free and lodged in his heart. With Kevorkian were his niece Ava Janus and Morganroth.

“It was peaceful," Morganroth told the paper. "He didn’t feel a thing."

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

No worries, his work will continue.

Paul Ryan Vows to Continue Kevorkian’s Work

Medicare to be Replaced with ‘Kevouchers’

WASHINGTON – In a somber Congressional ceremony, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) eulogized the late Dr. Jack Kevorkian today, vowing to “honor his legacy by continuing his good work.”

“Dr. Kevorkian tried to ease the transition of seniors into the great beyond,” an emotional Rep. Ryan told his colleagues in the House of Representatives. “Here in Congress, we have the opportunity – one might even say the obligation – to continue Kevorkian’s work on a grander scale.”

As a first step to memorialize the work of Dr. Kevorkian, Rep. Ryan said that his new budget plan would replace Medicare with a system of so-called “Kevouchers” that could be redeemed for cyanide pills, nooses and bullets.

[웃 910]

No worries, his work will continue.

My view is that if an old miserable man is full of disease and/or pain and wants to check out early then that is his choice. Instead of blowing his brains out or jumping off a building he can peacefully be 'put down'.

But doesn't seem like an issue that many of the GOP (especially the Christian Conservatives) would be in favor of.

EDIT: Why post a fake article?

Edited June 3, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

My view is that if an old miserable man is full of disease and/or pain and wants to check out early then that is his choice. Instead of blowing his brains out or jumping off a building he can peacefully be 'put down'.

But doesn't seem like an issue that many of the GOP (especially the Christian Conservatives) would be in favor of.

EDIT: Why post a fake article?

It's not a fake article. But I agree that end-of-life choices should be handled in a more humane manner. It's a dicey issue, though.

[웃 910]

It's not a fake article.

From your link (RELATED ARTICLES):

Republicans Propose Replacing Social Security with Groupons

2012 Election Cancelled

Introducing the Hot New Social Network, PhoneBook

Allows User to Call Friends, Speak to Them

[Danno 1,228]

No worries, his work will continue.

Sometimes Doctors must "cut" to save the whole of the body.

[웃 910]

But I agree that end-of-life choices should be handled in a more humane manner. It's a dicey issue, though.

Some of the narcotics that they give you will make you feel like you are already in heaven

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

From your link (RELATED ARTICLES):

Yes, and? It's still not fake. It's called satire.

sat·ire  [sat-ahyuhr]

1. the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.

3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.

Edited June 3, 2011 by Mr. Big Dog

[웃 910]

Yes, and? It's still not fake. It's called satire.

sat·ire  [sat-ahyuhr]

1. the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.

3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.

It exists and is not fake in the sense of the article being written and published. But it is still fake by definition:

fake ¹ (fk)adj. Having a false or misleading appearance; fraudulent.n.1. One that is not authentic or genuine; a sham.

2.fake - not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article

[^_^ 5,021]

Are you two gonna do it like charles and fishdude?

[_Simpson_ 250]

My view is that if an old miserable man is full of disease and/or pain and wants to check out early then that is his choice. Instead of blowing his brains out or jumping off a building he can peacefully be 'put down'.

I agree.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

It exists and is not fake in the sense of the article being written and published. But it is still fake by definition:

fake ¹ (fk)adj. Having a false or misleading appearance; fraudulent.n.1. One that is not authentic or genuine; a sham.

2.fake - not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article

By that definition, Ryan's blue print is fake.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

VJ existentialism Edited June 3, 2011 by fishdude

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It exists and is not fake in the sense of the article being written and published. But it is still fake by definition:

fake ¹ (fk)adj. Having a false or misleading appearance; fraudulent.n.1. One that is not authentic or genuine; a sham.

2.fake - not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article

No Fake, wouldn't be the right word, deceptive would be more appropriate. Naturally of course, this would imply you were deceived.

It exists and is not fake in the sense of the article being written and published. But it is still fake by definition:

fake ¹ (fk)adj. Having a false or misleading appearance; fraudulent.n.1. One that is not authentic or genuine; a sham.

2.fake - not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article

No Fake, wouldn't be the right word, deceptive would be more appropriate. Naturally of course, this would imply you were deceived.

[웃 910]

No Fake, wouldn't be the right word, deceptive would be more appropriate. Naturally of course, this would imply you were deceived.

VJs (olde) English professor

No Fake, wouldn't be the right word, deceptive would be more appropriate. Naturally of course, this would imply you were deceived.

Why would it imply I was deceived? I asked why Mr. Big Dog would post a fake article.