Jack Kevorkian
Jack Kevorkian
Jacob "Jack" Kevorkian was an American pathologist, euthanasia activist, painter, author, composer, and instrumentalist. He is best known for publicly championing a terminal patient's right to die via physician-assisted suicide; he claimed to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end. He was often portrayed in the media with the biased name of "Dr. Death"; however, many consider him a hero, as he helped set the platform for reform. He famously said, "Dying is not a crime"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDoctor
Date of Birth26 May 1928
CityPontiac, MI
CountryUnited States of America
I want some colleague to be free to come help me when I say the time has come. That's what I'm fighting for, me. Now that sounds selfish. And if it helps somebody else, so be it.
This could never be a crime in any society which deems himself enlightened.
Look at the forces against me. They don't want me out. They're afraid I'll cause trouble if I get out.
You can cite me for contempt, Your Honor. I don't care.
I would not want to live with a tube in my neck and not be able to move a finger. I wouldn't - that to me is not life.
I hate to say this, but I'll repeat it: After death, all we know that you do is stink.
I've seen schizophrenics who are so hopeless, you couldn't cheer them, and their lives are miserable and they end up as suicides. That's not right.
The American people are sheep. They're comfortable, rich, working. It's like the Romans, they're happy with bread and their spectator sports. The Super Bowl means more to them than any right.
I learned to smile by going through hell. Now I know what hell is and you don't. I can't tell you how it is, cause you can't do it with words.
I didn't do this for other people; I did this for me. I fought for this right for me - does that sound selfish?
The single worst moment of my life... was the moment I was born.
The public has no power. The government knows I'm not a criminal. The parole board knows I'm not a criminal. The judge knows I'm not a criminal.
The Jews were gassed. Armenians were killed in every conceivable way... So the Holocaust doesn't interest me, see? They've had a lot of publicity, but they didn't suffer as much.
I'm trying to knock the medical profession into accepting its responsibilities, and those responsibilities include assisting their patients with death.