Kevorkian, gadfly of the medical profession and inventor of the
"suicide machine," speaks his mind on the ethics of death. Its
title notwithstanding, this is not primarily a discussion of
euthanasia - or "medicide," the author's term for euthanasia
performed by professional medical personnel - but, rather, largely
a defense of his position that death-row inmates should be given
the option of execution by general anaesthesia, thus permitting use
of their bodies for experimentation and harvesting of their organs.
Since his days as a medical resident, Kevorkian has attempted to
convince legislators, prison officials, and physicians of the value
of this approach. However, the art of persuasion is not Kevorkian's
forte; indeed, he seems unable to resist attacking and insulting
those who disagree with him, referring to his medical colleagues as
"hypocritical oafs" with a "slipshod, knee-jerk" approach to
ethics. Those seeking a thoughtful discussion of euthanasia will
not find it here, but Kevorkian docs offer a revealing look at
gruesome methods of execution. (Readers who have the stomach for it
may be intrigued by his account of the many attempts to determine
how long consciousness endures in severed heads.) Kevorkian
concludes with a recounting of his development of the "Mercitron"
(as he has named his suicide machine), his reasons for creating it,
and his difficulties in promoting its use. A model bioethical code
for medical exploitation of humans facing imminent and unavoidable
death is included in the appendix. An angry doctor's rambling and
repetitious harangue, certain to arouse the ire of the medical
establishment. (Kirkus Reviews)
For many years Dr. Kevorkian was at the center of the red-hot
debate over physician-assisted suicide. The inventor of the
"suicide machine" stirred up both admiration and controversy. His
"Deaths with Dignity" won him the accolades of the pro-choice
movement. Other groups, like Operation Rescue, the AMA, the Hemlock
Society, and especially the Michigan State Legislature, insisted
that Kevorkian had gone too far. His much-publicized campaign to
assist the terminally ill to commit suicide eventually led to his
prosecution and imprisonment.
In Prescription: Medicide, the famed "suicide doctor" talks about
why he was so committed to his struggle. He addresses the need to
assist the terminally ill to die, how death row inmates should be
allowed to donate organs after their deaths, and the need for
medical reform to create a rational program of dignified, humane,
beneficial planned death.
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