Jack Kevorkian was a physician who believed that patients that were terminally ill should be allowed to make the decision whether to live or die. He believed it was ethical to allow those patients to die a “good death” (Lemming & Dickenson, 2011) by assisting them in suicide. Between 1990 and 1998 he assisted in more than 100 suicides; 130 to be exact. He faced prosecution for the people he had assisted in suicide and in 1997 was convicted of murder and sentenced to prison. Dr. Jack Kevorkian is the reason that palliative care among physicians is accepted. They now believe that a patient suffering such severe pain and are within a short time of dying should be allowed to have uncontrolled amounts of pain medication. Pain management for terminally ill patients is the sole purpose of palliative care. Dr. Kevorkian died in 2011 believing that by assisting in those suicides he had allowed his patients to die the “good death” he felt they deserved. Physician assisted suicide is now legal in four states and some …show more content…
The organizations sole purpose was to help people who wanted to take their own life. The Hemlock society published a book that printed detailed case studies about those that had chosen what they called self-deliverance (Lemming & Dickenson, 2011)
States where Euthanasia is Legal
Between 1994 and 2013 only four states have legalized Euthanasia. Those states being Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Montana. While there were many questions as to whether to legalize the process all four states finally won and it became legal but not without specific contingencies. Those were 1. Had to be 18 years or older 2. The patient had to be a legal resident of the state 3. Competent and capable of expressing their final wishes 4. Be considered terminal and will die with six months. There have only been a few reported cases of legal physician assisted suicide since its legalization in these states.