Assisted Suicide

Jack Kevorkian , known as "Doctor Death" for assisting patients he deemed terminally ill to end their lives, has died. Kevorkian claimed to have "assisted" in at least 130 suicides, beginning in 1990. He was charged with murder four times, being acquitted in three cases and having a mistrial declared in another.On March 26, 1999 Kevorkian was charged with second degree murder after administering a lethal injection to ALS victim Thomas Youk, at Mr. Youk's request. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 to 25 years in jail, but paroled in 2007 after serving just 8 years.Kevorkian brought the debate on euthanasia front and center in America and was willing to be jailed to make his point. At a time when medical science was offering more and more ways to extend life, but often not offering any improved quality of life, Kevorkian argued that an individual should be able to actively decide to die.Despite his passion and his willingness to use civil disobedience to change the way we view sufferi...

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