It's not official but Jack Kevorkian, aka "Dr. Death", plans to run for office. LifeNews.com reports that he plans to run as an independent for the 9th Congressional District in Michigan.
Of course, as the prosecutor who sent him to jail commented to the Oakland Press, it could just be a big publicity stunt. But stunt or not, what's scary is that some people will vote for him.
Citing security concerns, the University of Florida has asked to have Kevorkian's speech postponed until January. According to the North Country Gazette, Kevorkian's speech will be moved to January 15, 2008.
Kevorkian will be paid $50,000 to talk to students about the euthanasia and assisted suicide. The University of Florida is the alma mater of Judge Greer who ordered the removal of food and fluid from Terri Schindler Schiavo in order to cause her death. Understandably, the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation is asking for people to sign petitions saying, "It is unacceptable for the University of Florida to give a platform to Jack Kevorkian, a man who willfully helped take peoples lives, some of whose only ailment was depression, and pay him $50,000 to spread his violent message of 'mercy killing' to the students of the University of Florida."
Amen.
Yesterday, lauraechevarria.com hit a grand total of 600 visitors since its re-launch on April 9th. Many thanks to everyone who believes this site has something to say about politics and the debate over values, especially the right to life.
Be sure to keep an eye on LifeNews.com for my column this week. It's in the final edits. I apologize for missing last week's column-- I was away from my computer most of the week dealing with a car problem at the dealership. Unfortunately, my laptop is no longer young and spry-- it's absolutely useless away from the house.
This week's column is about Jack Kevorkian and I've planned next week's to be about the stem cell vote this week.
Besides the obvious love Mike Wallace apparently has for Kevorkian (two-thirds of the way through the interview Kevorkian had to ask Wallace to get tough with him), the 60 Minutes interview on Sunday was probably the most positive portrayal of assisted suicide I've seen in the mainstream media in a long time.
Kevorkian went to prison because of Thomas Youk. Youk, who had Lou Gehrig's disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS), had written to Kevorkian asking for his "help" and, because of his condition, Kevorkian decided that Youk should be the test case for active euthanasia. Kevorkian gave Youk a series of injections: first Seconal to knock him out, then one to paralyze his muscles (so he couldn't breathe) and then a third, potassium chloride, to stop his heart.
Of course Wallace painted all of this in the best possible light. Kevorkian comes across as the long-suffering hero, the compassionate murderer to paraphrase Wallace. Even Youk's family is grateful to Kevorkian for his services.
I don't disagree that Thomas Youk had advanced in his condition to the point where he had difficulty with controlling his muscles and was afraid of choking to death because he couldn't swallow. But where was his physician in all of this? Did 60 Minutes even contact his doctor to get his opinion of Youk's condition? What about the many people with ALS who lead very full lives even up to the end?
Youk, like many other Americans with debilitating, chronic or terminal conditions, was likely depressed. But because he wasn't twenty and perfectly healthy, he was automatically a candidate for euthanasia.
Kevorkian has vowed not to assist in any more suicides as part of his probation but he's promised before not to do them so we'll see whether he keeps his promise this time.
Jack Kevorkian, aka "Dr. Death," was released today. Sentenced to prison for his role in the suicide of a patient with Lou Gherig's disease (as shown on CBS's "60 Minutes"), Kevorkian has never shown remorse for his role in approximately 130 deaths.
Although Kevorkian is barred by his parole agreement from involving himself in any more suicides, as I mentioned a few days ago, it is being widely reported that several groups are willing to pay anywhere from $50,000-100,000 for him to speak.
More amazing is how quickly Kevorkian has recovered from all that ailed him in prison. His attorney claimed that his client's release was necessary for a variety of medical reasons but Kevorkian's early release was (obviously) declined every time.
Although seen as one of the faces of the assisted suicide movement, I think his release may actually hurt rather than help their cause because Kevorkian comes across as less than compassionate-- which is a cornerstone of the pro-death argument.
Sadly, many people are buying into the assisted suicide mentality and many are pushing to have it legalized and, just like pro-abortion groups, they hope to one day have it normalized.
As Burke Balch of National Right to Life has repeatedly said: the right to die may one day become a duty to die.
According to UPI, Jack Kevokian, aka "Dr. Death," will be released in June after serving over eight years for assisting in the death of a man with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). Already Kevorkian has received offers for speaking engagements and, according to his lawyer, several groups have offered anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 to speak.
Kevorkian will be on parole for two years but speaking engagements are not a violation of his parole.
Kevorkian's lawyer wouldn't name the groups but even so there can't be many and I'm not sure how long Kevorkian could make his notoriety last for that price. After speaking for pro-death groups, I can't see him doing motivational speeches for IBM.
