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Dr. Kevorkian Assisted Suicide Case Study

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Dr. Kevorkian: Observed Through a Microscope Dr. Kevorkian was responsible for the deaths of many people through the process of assisted suicide. He conducted more than 130 throughout his career, most of them were committed during the 1990’s. Because he assisted in the suicides of so many people, he faced scrutiny unlike any other case in the past. Dr. Kevorkian created a whole new category of death and wanted people to know about it. Furthermore, he hoped people would use assisted suicide to their advantage. As a result of his yearn for the public to grasp this new phenomenon, he was acquitted and tried in court for the death of Thomas Youk in 1998. With the case being so important to the topic of assisted suicide, prosecutors wanted to make …show more content…

Kevorkian was tried in court with the whole world watching. This case gained so much attention because of the national airing of the suicide video on 60 minutes. In fact, Kevorkian wanted to be tried in court so everyone on Earth could hear about assisted suicide. The initial charge Dr. Kevorkian was being tried for was second degree murder. Prosecutors gave him this charge because this was one of the only times Kevorkian administered the lethal drugs himself (as opposed to the patient pressing the button on the Thanatron to release the deadly drugs). Kevorkian injected Thomas Youk himself because he believed it was more humane that way. Because Kevorkian literally injected Thomas Youk to kill him (Hansen), prosecutors believed that it was murder and not suicide. To show that it was murder and not suicide, the video of the assisted suicide was played in the court room for the jury to see. Kevorkian believed it was a mercy killing and not murder. Additionally, Kevorkian (acting as his own defense) said he was providing a medical service to a patient suffering from incurable agony and that he reserved the right to die. In his final remarks, Kevorkian states that Thomas Youk came to him because he needed someone to help him instead of just killing him. To add on to that, Kevorkian stated that if a doctor amputates a patient then it is okay because he is doctor. Because of that fact, he strongly believes that …show more content…

The jury decided to not side with Dr. Kevorkian and convicted him guilty of second degree murder. Kevorkian was given the minimum sentence of ten to twenty five years in prison with an opportunity for parole. After eight years behind bars, Kevorkian was let out of prison on parole for good behavior. Moreover, he was also diagnosed with terminal Hepatitis C which was causing his kidneys to fail. In addition to being let of prison, Dr. Kevorkian promised he would never participate in assisted suicide again (Morlan). After Kevorkian served his time, he believed that it was pointless to keep advocating for assisted suicide because “if he could not fix the problem then, he would not fix it now.” Furthermore, he stated that it is up to the next generation to keep up this issue. Afterward, Kevorkian decided to travel around the country to talk about assisted suicide instead of actively participating in it. He stated that he wanted to instill this subject into the minds of the next generation so they might begin to advocate and stand up for what they believe

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According to Julie Rovner, Kevorkian was known as Dr. Death and allegedly assisted in more than 130 suicides (Rovner, 1999, para. 3). His method of assisted suicide would be providing his patients with means by which they could kill themselves using a machine that delivered a lethal dose of carbon monoxide (Rovner, 1999, para. 5). He would never get charged for murder in his practices because ultimately it was the patient 's choice whether or not to go through with it. Until one day

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1. Case Title and Citation ■ Washington v. Glucksberg 521 U.S. 702,117 S. Ct. 2258,117 S. Ct. 2302; 138 L. Ed. 2d 772 2. Procedural History The United States Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for any individuals to help another person to commit suicide.

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Since Dill appointed a lawyer that is limited to one thousand dollars, it also impacted his defense as the court claimed that his case had a lack of evidence to make reliable decisions. In the article, “Jimmy Dill” by, Equal Justice Initiative, tells us that the jury or the court, did not have any evidence about the victim did not die until nine months after the crime. “Neither the jury nor any court heard evidence about the circumstances under which the shooting victim did not die until nine months after the crime after evidence emerged that his caretaker failed to provide him appropriate treatment.” It is unfortunate for Dill that his caretaker did not give his proper treatment of his mental disability, causing the crime to take place and have a lack of evidence. Whether if justice and mercy are complementary or contradictory based on this certain case, it is clear that this case showing justice and mercy shows its opposition.

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One of the main objections to autonomy-based justifications of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) that Gill talks about is that many people believe it does not promote autonomy, but instead is actually taking it away (366). First, it is important to clarify what autonomy means. According to Gill, it is the ability of a person to make big decisions regarding their own life (369). Opponents of PAS argue that it takes away a person’s ability to make these big decisions and so it is intrinsically wrong for them to choose to take their own life.

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Another example is the case on Dr.Kevorkian about Euthanasia. On the other hand, others may say

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He did not get into trouble with the law until he submitted a recording of him administering a lethal injection to a patient. He was charged with second degree murder and sentenced 10 to 25 years. Some previous physicians spoke out against Dr. Kevorkian stating that not all his patients were terminally ill. This is the slippery slope that J. Gay-Williams talks about in his piece titled The Wrongfulness

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Numerous legal issues are present in the trials of Dr. Kevorkian. All the issues circulate around the question, is Dr. Kevorkian’s actions in assisting a person with suicide and sometimes personally ending the person’s life considered murder if they want to willfully die? This issue cannot be easily solved, that is why to this day it is still argued in legislation. It contains an objective legal aspect, but a subjective moral, therefore until one is personally in that tragic situation, they cannot really state what is the right or wrong thing to do. A large issue in this case was not only that Dr. Kevorkian was assisting people in committing suicide, which is illegal in the state of Michigan, but he was also using doctor issued medicine and practicing without a medicine license.

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Georgie Milton did something not many people have the guts to do, he took the life of his best friend to save him from the torture that awaited him, but, he took the life of another man and he took this life with the intention of murder. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there is no difference between euthanasia and murder; and to this indictment, George Milton has pleaded not guilty. If I am to prove him otherwise, you must find him so. Lennie Small has been described to us as a caring giant. He had no bad intentions; and it is fair to say that our witnesses have provided us with sufficient evidence to support my argument.

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The argument over assisted suicide is still raging on and is still affecting many states and families. The fact that people have totally different views on the matter is normal. This is not as easy topic for most people because it has to deal with death and also the taking of another life. Many people such as Dr. Kevorkian believed to leave death up to god and not heal a person or give them a quicker

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Physician assisted suicide has been an intensely debated problem for years but if used properly, could be an effective way to help those who are suffering at the end of their life. Countless people have been advocating for physician assisted suicide for years and the most famous advocate for assisted suicide was Dr. Jack Kevorkian. He was a pathologist but received the nickname Dr. Death after it was estimated that between 1990 and 1999 he assisted 130 terminally ill individuals in their assisted suicides (“Jack Kevorkian”). Dr. Kevorkian is considered a crusader for physician

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Assisted suicide is a rather controversial issue in contemporary society. When a terminally ill patient formally requests to be euthanized by a board certified physician, an ethical dilemma arises. Can someone ethically end the life of another human being, even if the patient will die in less than six months? Unlike traditional suicide, euthanasia included multiple individuals including the patient, doctor, and witnesses, where each party involved has a set of legal responsibilities. In order to understand this quandary and eventually reach a conclusion, each party involved must have their responsibilities analyzed and the underlying guidelines of moral ethics must be investigated.

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In the end, the man died a gruesome and sad death which could have prevented if the Euthanasia law was not in place. The law of Euthanasia, in many instances including this one, has led to a lot of emotional damage. Not only did this law create more pain for the victim, it was also painful for family and friends to hear about the awful tragedy. Overall, breaking the law be rationalized if its intention is to reduce the agony of

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Jack Kevorkian of Michigan has been helping people, who are terminally ill, with suicide using medications. He believes that people need to have a chance to die with dignity and with the benefits medicine can provide. He has been arrested because of this. People who are against his ideas believe that no one has the right to end a life. I think that suicide with assistance should be given as an option to people.

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The main ethical content of this film “You Don’t Know Jack” revolves around this argument. It is about mercy killing which can be supported on the basis that it puts an end to the suffering of terminally ill patient whose cure is certainly not possible. And it can be further backed by argument that a dead patient’s organs can give a new lease of life to many patients who can be cured. In this movie pathologist named Dr. Jack Kevorkian launches his work of death counseling activities to the terminally ill patients. He earns the support of Hemlock society.

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