That sound's like an old pulp novel.
But its the headlines you'll be seeing this evening. Dr. Jack Kevorkian, infamous for participating in over a hundred assisted suicides passed away today, peacefully, in his hospital bed. He was listening to Bach, his favourite composer, as he died. I think just about everyone in America has some basic idea of who he was so I won't bore you with my jumbled and sparse knowledge. Instead I'll point you to a wiki page featuring information on the man; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kevorkian
Go ahead and check it out, you might find some very interesting things there. Like did you know that he was an artist and musician? Or that he ran for Congress? Or that Al Pacino played him in a movie?
Whatever your personal view of him, of what he did, I think he brought up some interesting points in his own audacious arguments. Should people, suffering from terminal illness and pain have the right to end their lives? Should Doctors be allowed to assist? These aren't evil questions to ask, there are no such things as evil questions. They're simply questions, and naturally questions lead to discussion. I think this is an interesting discussion to have. Doctor assisted suicide is already legal in, I believe, two states. And in all 50 states you have the right to deny Doctors the ability to resuscitate you should you die. Is it simply a matter of time and circumstance before laws change to meet an ideal similar to what Kevorkian was arguing for? As someone who has seen what terminal illness can do, I have incredibly mixed feelings about the subject. But I'm still willing to talk about it. Are you?
No comments:
Post a Comment