some general information
this is where i give you a bit of information about doctor-assisted suicides, without sharing my whole lengthy paper with some thief. ;o) i'll just list some basic book definitions and explain a little about Dr. Kevorkian and his practices.
using this page for a speech or paper? you'll need some reference information.
use these links to jump to specific parts of this page:
Euthanasia - the act of mercifully ending the life of a hopelessly suffering patient; taken from a similar Greek word meaning "easy or good death"
Physician-Assisted Suicide - assisted by a qualified medical practitioner in fulfilling the wishes of a competent, terminally-ill patient to end his/her own life, usually by means of lethal injections
* the difference between the two: during euthanasia, when death itself occurs, it's carried out by the doctor; in doctor-assisted suicides, the patient fulfills the final step of terminating his/her own life.
"Passive" Euthanasia - ending a patient's life by withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatments
"Active" Euthanasia - causing a virtually painless death by means without which life would continue naturally, usually referring to lethal injections
Suicide - the act of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally
benefits of DAS Dr. Kevorkian has pointed out:
- reduces patient's suffering
- family and friends of patient suffer less psychological pain
- saves in resources that would be spent on prolonged care
- Dr. Kevorkain asks his own patients to donate vital organs or undergo a critical medical experiment, thus benefitting science, medicine, society, and the lives of others
criteria for medically justifiable wishes:
- patient's wish to terminate own life
- his/her feeling of need to end own life, due to pain and suffering
[requests may NOT be brought on by a patient's family member(s)]
- doctor's common sense, rationality, and medical expertise
explanation of how Dr. Kevorkian's 'mercitron' [his suicide apparatus, invented in 1989] works:
- salt solution runs from needle through veins
- when ready, patient pulls plunger, injecting a solution into his/her veins putting him/her to sleep in 10-15 seconds
- one minute later, a final lethal solution flows through needle into his/her veins
Dr. Kevorkians own words describing the difference between his 'mercitron' and euthanasia:
"It's like giving someone a loaded gun. The patient pulls the trigger, not the doctor. If the doctor sets up the needle and syringe but lets the patient pull the plunger, that's assisted suicide. If the doctor pushed to plunger, it would be euthanasia." ¹
published journalist, Jack Lessenbery:
"No, the U.S. Constitution does not talk about physician-assisted suicide. Neither does it talk about the right to own a video camera...here [in this society] everything not expressly denied is assumed to be permitted--not the other way around." ²
Dr. Pieter Admiraal, anesthesiologist of 40 years & the first Dutch physician to speak freely on the practice of euthanasia:
"The main reason patients request euthanasia are the loss of dignity that may accompany the final stages of terminal illness and the acceptance that death is inevitable...[also, the patients] are in agonizing pain [and] ask for euthanasia as a last resort." ³
Dr. Kevorkian:
"'Passive Euthanasia' is just natural death. Euthanasia means 'good death.' Allowing someone to starve to death and to die of thirst, the way we do now, is barbaric. Our Supreme Court has validated barbarism. The Nazis did that in the concentration camps." 4
¹ McCuen, G.E. (1994) Doctor Assisted Suicide and The Euthanasia Movement. Hudson, WI: Gary E. McCuen Publications, Inc., p. 34.
² Wekesser, C. (1995) Euthanasia: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc., p. 92.
³ McCuen, G.E. (1994) Doctor Assisted Suicide and The Euthanasia Movement. Hudson, WI: Gary E. McCuen Publications, Inc., p. 72.
4 McCuen, G.E. (1994) Doctor Assisted Suicide and The Euthanasia Movement. Hudson, WI: Gary E. McCuen Publications, Inc., p. 33.
Doctor-Assisted Suicide--a guide to WEB Sites and the literature
Jack Kevorkian's Home Page
A state-by-state look at doctor-assisted suicide - Doctor-assisted suicide, state by state Wednesday's landmark Supreme Court ruling that upheld two state laws banning physician-assisted suicide now moves the right-to-die battle back to the states. Click on any state to find out its laws and legislative actions.
Oregon Live: Physician-Assisted Suicide
EUTHANASIA AND PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE: ALL SIDES OF THE ISSUES
Suicide Watch - key events in the assisted-suicide debate in recent years. From ABC News.
Euthanasia World Directory - lists all right to die groups, plus info on suicide, assisted suicide, euthanasia laws, living wills, Hemlock Society, Dr. Kevorkian, Derek Humphry. Nonprofit.
Euthanasia.com - information on euthanasia, mercy killing, physician assisted suicide, living wills, life and death issues
The Kevorkian Verdict
Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon -- The First Year's Experience
The Hemlock Society - Death With Dignity
Oregon's Death with Dignity Act Annual Report
(quiz added Dec. 12, 1999)
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flying_icebergs@yahoo.com
last content update: 11/6/99
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