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Jack Kevorkian Trial

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The Dr. Death Trials
The Dr. Death trials revolve around Dr. Jack Kevorkian (A.K.A Dr. Death) and his unorthodox euthanasia killings. Background information on the accused, Dr. Kevorkian, is he was born in Pontiac, Michigan on May 26, 1928 to strict and religious Armenian parents, Levon and Satenig. Dr. Kevorkian rejected the idea of a God at age 12 and stopped attending church entirely. He graduated in medicine at the University of Michigan in 1952 and received a speciality in pathology soon after. However, in 1952, Dr. Kevorkian’s career took a break when he had to serve 15 months as an Army medical officer in Korea. Kevorkian first became fascinated by death when he served his residency at the University of Michigan hospital in the 1950s. …show more content…

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. Another significant question in this case is whether Dr. Kevorkian had the right of “playing God” by assisting people in dying when they wanted to instead of letting nature take its course. This last legal issue focuses on finances because should relatives to a terminally ill person have to reduce their quality of life by taking money out of their own pocket to pay for the extremely expensive cost of life support of their loved one if they are in pain and in a vegetative state not really living life? All these legal issues are present everyday with the large number of individuals on life support which affects the loved ones of these ill people, and the government on having to make laws to better …show more content…

In my opinion, I think assisted suicide and euthanasia should not be legal. What causes Dr. Kevorkian and I to have differentiating opinions on this matter I believe is our religious faith. Dr. Kevorkian as a non-religious man might have the view that one lives life and then gets buried under the ground soil like everyone else, which might be a reason as to why he thinks if someone wants to die there’s nothing wrong with helping them, instead you are kind of doing them a favour. Also, possible PTSD from all the deaths he witnessed when he did his service in Korea could account to his mere significance towards human life. On the other hand, not stating that this is the correct side since no one will ever know, I believe that only God should decide when it is someone’s turn to die. I don’t believe that we should have the power to decide one’s fate. An important part to recognize that is not talked a lot about in this topic is that if euthanasia and assisted suicide is illegal, then doctors won’t have the pressure and burden of having to take someone’s life, even if the person wanted it. These people are educated to be doctors, not killers. They are meant to use everything in their power to save patients, not take away their life. In the end, I have never been in a situation or know of someone that was terminally ill and contemplated assisted suicide, thus I do not have the proper knowledge to confidently further state my position

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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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It has been 21 years and physician-assisted suicide is still one of the biggest legal issues today and in the Supreme Court. “When Sue Rodriguez took her case to court, she changed the very nature of the decision-making process that might affect how she would live out her final days and how she would die. She tried to change the law of the land” (Bereza). This impacted today’s society and law; in fact the federal government will appear in front of the BC Court of Appeal later this month for discussion of the band on assisted-suicide. The crucial debate on this controversial topic continues to

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Dr. Jack Kervorkian is a well known figure of society today. Kervorkian was a United States based physician who assisted in patient suicides. Kervorkian sparked a worldwide debate over hospice care and if the work Kervorkian was demonstrating was considered to be legal or not. Nonetheless, Kervorkian had a unique childhood and lifestyle that sparked his interest in assisted suicide. Kervorkian’s profile is fascinating and eye opening and should be recognized.

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The law has dictated what is allowable within the realm of euthanasia. Dr. Jack Kevorkian is the most infamous physician associated with euthanasia. MacKinnon and Fiala state “For eight years, starting in 1990, Kevorkian assisted more than 100 suicides” (Physician-Assisted Suicide). His role was active though and he used a variety of methods.

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However, everything comes with a consequence. For doctors, they may never know whether they made the right decision, and they may feel regret it after the fact, thus ruining the rest of their lives. Furthermore, once the deed is done, patients don’t have the ability to change their minds, making this one of the most important, permanent, and impactful decisions they will ever make for themselves and their families. Physician assisted suicide once was widely considered murder, however, with a changing public outlook on how this can benefit patients and their loved ones, it should be considered an asset rather that a breach of the

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Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Right to Murder? Doctors spend over eight years attending college, studying and practicing how humans work and how to save them. So why should it be right for physicians to help out their patients in killing themselves? If a person chooses to end their life, they completely loose the possibility of a medical miracle of being able to live through whatever condition they have.

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The enigmatic Hamlet once said, “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” In Hamlet’s soliloquy, he ponders on the idea of suicide and whether it would be a practical solution to all his problems, in other words was it better to live or to die? A situation parallel to Hamlet is the landmark case Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, where it discusses how the Constitution protects a person’s right to die and how states can regulate it. During 1983, a woman by the name of Nancy Cruzan laid in an eternal vegetative state after being involved in an auto collision, where she sustained severe injuries and was put on life-sustaining equipment. In addition, after five years with no signs of recovery, the Cruzan family asked to terminate her from the tubes that were feeding her, but were denied by the staff, without approval of the court.

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In this case, and many others worldwide, physician assisted suicide is morally permissible at all ages for anyone with a terminal illness with a prognosis of 6 months. This is supported by act based utilitarianism and the idea of maximizing pleasure and reducing pain and suffering on an individual circumstance. By allowing a terminal patient to die a less painful death, in control of the situation, and with dignity, the patient will have amplified

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I believe this is a justified way to die because it allows someone who is terminally ill to die on their own terms and not waste away –something they may not want to do in front of their family. In addition, it takes into account the other side of the slippery slope of when to draw the line in assisted deaths. Oregon, Washington and the Netherlands require proof of terminal illness, a competent human that is capable of making decisions and you must be followed by a physician that has to confirm the diagnosis along with required written requests and witnesses to sign the paperwork. These requirements are there to make certain that the person is not actually healthy, like most of Kevorkian’s clients, and completely understands what they are asking for and it also makes it so the doctors are not held accountable for assisting in the death of their patients but are allowing them the decision to make their own

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In 1999, Jack Kevorkian was arrested for physician assisted suicide. He was convicted of 2nd degree murder for assisting an alzheimer’s patient with euthanasia. This brought up a lot of controversy over whether or not doctors have a right to help a terminally ill person die. Oregon was the first to

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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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Doctors should always do everything they can, literally every possible thing they could think of to help their patients and to try and save their life. Just letting someone die because they want to is something no doctor should ever agree to, they should

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The ethics of euthanasia and assisted suicide is overall immoral but can also be somewhat moral. Assisted suicide can be somewhat moral if the patients want to end their life then they should do what they believe is right for them. Such as how euthanasia/assisted suicide “ is argued that as part of our human rights, there is a right to make our own decisions and a right to a dignified death”(The Ethics). Since it is their own body and they have complete control over it. Another way it is moral is because it helps patients with terminal diseases end their suffering.

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However, even though euthanasia is only for those who are terminally ill, it is still a broad opening for people to find their way in. Cases like Dr. J. Kevorkian's case are prime examples of how euthanasia cam be abused. Dr. Kevorkian was convicted of murder for euthanizing 130 patients (Diaconescu). According to Dr. Kevorkian, his definition of terminal was “any disease that curtails life even for a day” (“The Real Jack”). With this definition, Dr. Kevorkian was able to euthanize those who did not fit in the proper definition of terminal ill, meaning a life expectancy of six months or less.

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The Right to Die 1) Introduction a) Thesis statement: Physician assisted suicide offers patients a choice of getting out of their pain and misery, presents a way to help those who are already dead mentally because of how much a disease has taken over them, proves to be a great option in many states its legal in, and puts the family at ease knowing their love one is out of pain. i) The use of physician assisted death is used in many different countries and some states. ii) Many people who chose this option are fighting a terminal illness.

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