UNITED STATES. 28 May 2008. Euthanasia advocate known as "Dr. Death," Jack Kevorkian, born 80 years ago

On his 80th birthday, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the former medical pathologist known for his antics in support of voluntary euthanasia will be on parole from prison. In a speech at Florida University in January, he indicated he is not free to say much about euthanasia because of the conditions of his parole. At the same time, he made it clear he hasn't changed his mind about "assisted suicide," insisting he didn't cause death but ended suffering.

News that the university was paying him US $50,000 for his speech enraged his critics. His high-security visit to the university for the speech drew thousands of his supporters, as well as banner-waving protesters.

Born on 28 May 1928 in Pontiac, Michigan, Kevorkian became famous in the 1990s for his "death machine," a device he invented that allowed a user to self-inject an anesthetic and then a lethal dose of potassium chloride. Kevorkian used carbon monoxide gas when he was unable to procure potassium chloride, and many of his clients passed away in his 1968 Volkswagen bus, which he had rigged for his equipment.

His initial "assisted suicides" led to a 1993 Michigan law that specifically prohibited him from continuing, a law he openly defied in an effort to force the issue into the courts.

His continuing practical assistance in suicides led to his losing his license to practice medicine in California and Michigan and spells in prison. Following the 1998 airing on television network CBS of a videotape of the death of a 52-year-old man with Lou Gehrig's disease, which Kevorkian assisted, the former physician was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10-25 years in prison. In failing health, he was granted parole on 1 Jun 2007.

He claims to have assisted in the suicides of 130 people. Jan/08

RELATED READING:

Kevorkian gets $50K for UF talk (AP/Miami Herald 16 Jan 2008)
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/381324.html

Jack Kevorkian biography (Biography.com)
http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9364141