Kevorkian Essay
Kevorkian EssayJack Kevorkian is one of America's most controversial people. Since 1989 he has aided in the death of over one hundred people, some as young as twenty-one. Kevorkian has used three methods for assisting in the suicides of his "patients". His original death machine was "execution by lethal injection, except you do it yourself." This death machine was simply a metal pole with bottles containing drug solutions. A needle was inserted into the arm of the "patient" and the flow of saline started. A switch would need to be hit in order to start the death process. First, a solution of sedatives began, followed by a paralyzing drug. Then potassium chloride would stop the heart, causing death. Kevorkian's second machine was very similar to the first one, but it had fewer moving parts and did not include the paralyzing drug. Kevorkian's third machine was very different from the previous two. It consisted of a mask to be placed over the face which was connected by tubing to a canister of carbon monoxide gas. This new machine would cause death from carbon monoxide poisoning. By using these three contraptions, Kevorkian assisted in the deaths of over one-hundred people by delivering a controlled substance to them and should be held criminally accountable for his actions. Kevorkian has entered himself into medical fields in which he has no training or familiarity with, has helped people with no terminal illness commit suicide along with many others who would not be seen as competent enough to make appropriate decisions. Many of Kevorkian's "patients" could have lived for many more enjoyable years.
Most doctors are heavily trained before they can practice medicine in a specific area, but Dr. Kevorkian has no credentials whatsoever which would qualify him to deal with depressed or dying people. When asked about his medical career, Kevorkian once said: "Well, it's never been going well. I had an erratic practice...I had so many controversial topics on my resume, that people were just frightened to death of me. And it was hopeless to get a position." With the exception of his residency and his military service in the 1950s, he had had no clinical experience with live patients prior to his assisted suicides. Most of his professional experience has been in the field of pathology (dealing with dead bodies and body parts). In addition, he has no training or expertise in diagnosing or treating depression, and has no experience in the fields of internal medicine, geriatrics, psychiatry and neurology. He has said that the decision about who is worthy to use his death machine is based on his medical expertise , but he has admitted that he is not qualified to practice medicine, even as a general practitioner. In addition to not having the credentials to practice medicine on the depressed or...
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