I suspect that over the next few days we might see some first-time visitors to this blog – and many of them will be curious as to just what kind of factual information is out there about Kevorkian that is absent in just about all of the media coverage. Below is a non-exhaustive list of some easily accessible sources that give you some information on Jack Kevorkian’s background, career and motivations. A lot of it will be completely new information to you – if you’ve been getting you’re info from sources such as the New York Times or HBO’s “You Don’t Know Jack.”
- The Real Jack Kevorkian – Comprehensive fact sheet on Jack Kevorkian produced by the Patients Rights Council (previously named the International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force).
- SUICIDE MACHINE, PART 1: Kevorkian rushes to fulfill his clients’ desire to die – From the Detroit Free Press. Part of a series published in 1997 that examined the first known 47 of Kevorkian’s “clients.”
- More women than men sought Kevorkian’s help – 2000 AP article that summarizes research on Kevorkian clients conducted by Julie Malphurs and Donna J Cohen.
- The All-Too-Familiar-Story – published in 2001, it discusses how the press repeatedly “discovers” that most of Kevorkian’s clients weren’t terminally ill, then forgets about it so that it “discovers” it again a few years later.
Also of Interest…
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE ENTITLED TO DIGNITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: A STATEMENT IN OPPOSITION TO HONORING DR. JACK KEVORKIAN – From 2000, a statement opposing the Gleitsman Foundation’s plans to honor Jack Kevorkian with a “humanitarian” award. The statement is endorsed by a long list of leaders and activists in the realm of social justice, including Bob Kafka, Martin Sheen, Paul Longmore and Justin Dart.
More to come – Stephen Drake
Honoring Kevorkian would be a bit like honoring Hitler, Stalin, Castro or any other serial murderer – an outrage for their crimes against humanity. Rather than honor, their careers should serve to remind us to adopt the holocaust museum motto in terms of society this time…”Never Again!”.
I suggest people watch the season finale of Private Practice (ABC), yes it is a terrible show, contrived but I was surprised how well the parental request for euthanasia of a child with a disability was handled. You might find it interesting.
The difficulty I am encountering is extracating a legitimate empathy of people’s own family members’ sufferings, and their own terror of becoming disabled, or ending with some form of organic brain syndrome, from the fact that Kevorkian was a sociopathic serial killer (misogynist, of course, as most serial killers are). I’ve been encouraging everyone to join NDY’s mailing list, and begging them to read Dr Alexander’s “Medical Science Under Dictatorship,” and Chris Reeve’s books, especially “Still Me.”
Very helpful. Thanks!
SharonL