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Woman argued with husband before Kevorkian-assisted suicide
August 17, 1996
Web posted at: 9:50 a.m. EDT
DETROIT (CNN) -- Dr. Jack Kevorkian said he may not have helped a Massachusetts woman die had he known she called police during a domestic dispute with her husband three weeks before the suicide, a newspaper reported.
Judith Curren, 42, a retired nurse who suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome, and her husband, Dr. Franklin Curren, argued at their Pembroke, Massachusetts home July 26 about her desire to see Kevorkian. Curren, a 57-year-old psychiatrist, was arrested on a charge of domestic assault and battery.
Kevorkian said that he was unaware of the situation.
"We try to guard against things like this," Kevorkian told The Oakland Press. "We always say patient autonomy is paramount, but I have a policy of not doing it if there are family problems."
Kevorkian's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, denied a Boston Herald report which quoted him as saying that Kevorkian knew about the assault charge.
"I absolutely never said such a thing," Fieger said. "Nobody knew."
Fieger also said the assault charge is unrelated to Mrs. Curren's decision to commit suicide.
Court records show that Mrs. Curren told police she feared her husband on the night of the fight between them, that he had yanked the telephone from her and dismantled it, and that he had pulled her out of bed.
Dr. Curren told Boston television that he had taken the phone from his wife to prevent her from speaking to Kevorkian. He also said she had not been taking a prescribed anti- depressant medication.
"She'd just been very upset with me, so she dialed 911, like somehow or other she felt ... that I had abused her by not taking her to Michigan," he said.
Dr. Curren did accompany his wife to Michigan, and attended her suicide Thursday.
Kevorkian said that Mrs. Curren, his 35th assisted suicide, met all his medical criteria.
"This woman was suffering and her case very much merited action," he said. "At the very least, I certainly would have wanted a lot more information."
Kevorkian said that he does screen his patients for family problems.
"We always ask all the patients three questions," he said. "We ask them whether there is any trouble in the family, whether there are any squabbles or finances and whether they have a will."
The controversial doctor, who has been acquitted twice of assisted suicide charges in Michigan, said that such problems could be reduced if the medical community established guidelines for dealing with assisted suicide.
"That way, poor people like that can get help where they live and not have to come all the way from Massachusetts to Michigan," he said.
Prosecutors and police in Massachusetts were investigating the Currens' relationship, and Michigan prosecutors had "been in touch" with them, according to Oakland County Prosecutor Richard Thompson.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Kevorkian assists 35th suicide - August 16, 1996
- Latest death attended by Kevorkian ruled homicide - August 8, 1996
- Medical examiner: Kevorkian patient wasn't terminally ill - August 7, 1996
Related sites:
- Right to Die Society
- Euthanasia World Directory
- International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force
- Right to die organizations worldwide
- Euthanasia-False Light
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