Born: Jacob Kevorkian

Date of Birth: May 26, 1928

Date of Death: June 3, 2011

Cause of Death: Thrombosis (Blood clot)

Quotes: “When your conscience says law is immoral, don’t follow it.”    /    “Dying is not a crime.”

It is often debated if physician-assisted suicide is morally right. It is often debated if it should be legal or illegal. Jacob Kevorkian, also know as “Dr. Death,” was a man who fully supported physician-assisted suicide and in fact, assisted in 130 such suicides in his career. He often advocated the right a terminally ill patient has to die, causing great controversy as to whether this is an act of heroism or an illegal practice.

Jacob Kevorkian was born in Pontiac, Michigan to two Armenian immigrant parents, Levon and Satenig.  As a child growing up during the Great Depression, his family struggled to keep a steady income in their household.  An outstanding student at an early age, he showed a great passion for the arts and excelled academically.  He learned German and Japanese by high school, didn’t engage in many social settings, and graduated with honors. Kevorkian grew up in a strictly religious household but quite often debated the existence of God and eventually stopped attending church. It wasn’t his intention to study biology until halfway through his freshman year of college.  He graduated college in medicine and worked towards his career as a pathologist.

Once he began his career in pathology, he became fascinated with the concept of death. He formulated the idea called “terminal human experimentation,” suggesting that convicts on death row should make a sacrifice for science by volunteering in “painless” experiments. This strange idea was what gave Kevorkian the nickname “Dr. Death.” Kevorkian replicated the Russian medical practice of transfusing blood from a corpse to a living patient which proved its worth in dire times but was ultimately turned down from the Pentagon.

The most controversial and well known aspect of Kevorkian’s career was his work with the terminally ill patients and his appeals to the media promoting physician-assisted suicide.  Although financial failure occurred in his self-owned “suicide clinic,” he continued on. The most recognizable is his assistance in the suicide of Janet Adkins, using his invention the “Thanatron.” It is often referred to as “the suicide machine.” This brought media attention to Kevorkian’s campaign, ultimately leading to court and the indecision as to whether it was acceptable or not.  He was in and out of prison four times before Michigan outlawed this practice, but Kevorkian continued, even more motivated.  He eventually served eight years of a sentence but was let out on a promise that he would not continue assisting in suicides.  Jack performed 130 euthanasia suicides before his death in 2011.

Jack Kevorkian left a back-and-forth legacy as to whether he was a hero or a criminal.  The debate of whether it is morally ethical to allow physician assisted suicides through euthanasia is still going on today and has not reached a consensus. Jack Kevorkian was a genius in many ways, and he certainly created a meaningful debate concerning whether or not it is ethically right to perform physician-assisted suicides.