Dr. Jack Kevorkian

[scarlettina]

Doctor Jack Kevorkian, militant activist for patients' end-of-life rights and the right to die with dignity, has himself passed away.

Under strict conditions, it's legal in Oregon, Washington, and Montana to ask a physician for assistance to die and for that physician to render aid. Records indicate that the system has worked when it's been used

Comments

[holyoutlaw]

I just read a very long review/article about How to Die in Oregon, and yes, it sounds very intense. (http://blogs.suntimes.com/shannon/2011/05/how_to_die_in_oregon_its_personal.html)

I did some reading about WA and OR's right to die laws last quarter, and you're right, there aren't the abuses that people feared. Most of the people who avail themselves of it are well-educated, upper middle class, well insured, etc. And the most frequent reason is not pain avoidance, but loss of independence.

I'm glad to have those tools available for me as well, but being insured well enough to be able to afford that level of care is another issue entirely.

[singingnettle]

Having seen way too many people die badly, I am extremely supportive of dying people's right to die at a time of their choosing. Yes, I think we owe him a debt for, at the very least, bringing the issue into the open.

[prettyshrub]

After reading Dan Savage's account of his mother's death - essentially suffocation, I truly understood how important it is to give people the option to choose their own time and method of death. We certainly don't allow animals to suffer when we have the option.