Dr Death may get parole

Personally, I think it's a travesty that this man has spent the past 8 years in prison.

Good. Now he can resume slaughtering unsuspecting people in the prime of life.

8 years!
Are you kidding? That's shocking.

For helping people in terrible pain to die?

Personally, I believe it's an act of compassion & real courage (given the nature of the penalities) to assist a desperate person who can no longer cope with an agonizing existence.

I would be grateful if someone cared enough for me, if I was ever in that situation, to help put an end to the agony, peacefully.

Poor Dr. K. Sounds like he doesn't have much time left. I always thought he got a pretty raw deal too. Bastards.

I think that family doctors, and probably hospital doctors too, in this country at least and probably elsewhere, have been assisting people do die since time immemorial.

And a good thing too.

I think that's the case (with some, not all) doctors here in Oz, too, McTag.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my own father, who was in terrible pain & distress, was helped by his own doctor in this way.

Me too. He didn't "murder" anyone. He was simply assisting people with what they wanted to do, anyhow. I think that history will perceive this man with a much kinder eye than the average person sees him now. Someday, I believe that he will be considered a trail blazer.

We're a country of laws, and, unfortunately, sometimes the law trumps compassion. Kevorkian decided that, in some cases, compassion was more important and he accepted the consequences.

That doesn't mean that the law is more important than compassion, just that we haven't figured out how the two can coexist yet. We're still pretty primitive.

The first time I had a kidney stone I naively went to the hospital expecting relief. They gave me a shot that stopped the pain for an hour or so, and I was writhing the table for another two hours or so in vocalizing pain because "we can't give you any more medication and nothing else works." I guess they figured I'd get addicted to not feeling pain. As it turns out aspirin, and probably Tylenol too, works somewhat, at least dulling the pain.

A nurse told me that doctors are afraid of giving pain medication because of the DEA.

Yes indeed, coluber, I couldn't agree more.

But what a prickly path to get there!

I have always been baffled by the fact that, as a veterinarian, I have been able to use all resources at my disposal to relieve pain and suffering in animals, up to and including euthanasia, while humans are not offered the same option for themselves that is available for their critters. It has never made sense to me, and I'm sure it never will.

Indeed

Yep, that's why I've always wished I could go to a vet instead of an MD. Really, not just for the end of life options, but for the down to earth style of care. Plus, they go to school for just as longs as regular docs don't they?

HBO is currently showing a documentary, Kevorkian, and a movie starring Al Pacino and Susan Sarandon titled You don't know Jack. After watching these two movies, I came to A2K, searched for "Kevorkian", and found this thread.

This man is a hero. And I encourage everyone to go watch both movies. They're worth it.