Dr. Kevorkian's Death Prompts So Many Responses...

Dr. Kevorkian's death has certainly prompted the national conversation on our rights as we near the end of our lives. Death is a difficult subject and an excruciating dialogue for many of us and we all need as much guidance and assistance from wise people to navigate that road.  (The occassional temper tantrum can be really helpful, too.) Unfortunately, the NY Times did not really help the dialogue this week.

Comments had to be closed down for this NY Times op-ed contribution:  "Dr. Kevorkian's Victims" by Ross Douthat.  Understandably so.  The title is inaccurate and designed to incite argument either by clever avoidance or simple ignorance.  Further down in the op-ed piece he writes around other facts about Dr. Kevorkian.

If you're reading this blog post and would like factual information on Dr. Kevorkian's practices - I refer you to the 2010 documentary  KEVORKIAN.  

Since the NY Times comments are closed, I share my comments on Mr. Douthat's op-ed here:

(1) Dr. Kevorkian had no "victims".  People came to him seeking his assistance.  In the documentary you can see actual footage of their requests.

(2) Dr. Kevorkian was not called Dr. Death because he assisted so many suffering people who were ready to end their lives -- he was called Dr. Death because he was a military doctor who was highly skilled at observing the exact moment of death of soldiers on the battlefield.  He was responsible for "person to person" blood transfusions on the battlefield and saved the lives of hundreds... (READ MORE @ ORIGINAL POST- http://bit.ly/DrKevorkianDeathPromptingDiscussion)