Dr. Kevorkian died on Friday. I’m sure jokes were made about whether or not his death was “assisted,” but let me say that if you ever had a relative who died a lingering and painful death, Dr. Kevorkian was a man you respected and admired.
He spent eight years in prison for the crime of helping terminally ill people die more quickly. I’ve often thought about how we treat our animals better than our relatives. When we deal with our animals, we “put them down.” We “put them to sleep.” We “end their suffering.” And yet people we love and cherish are made to experience agonies that we would never inflict on a horse or a cat or a dog.
In Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal, far more people request information on the program than actually use it. What the law gives them is peace of mind. They are secure in the knowledge that if they do need help in dying, it is available to them.
While Dr. Kevorkian may not have completely succeeded in his efforts, he did help to make the medical profession aware of the problems of the terminally ill. Hospice care has improved, and living wills that specify what efforts shall be made are more common. We owe him.
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