Kevorkian suggests guidelines for suicides

January 14, 1997
Web posted at: 12:00 a.m. EST

DETROIT (CNN) -- An unrepentant Dr. Jack Kevorkian said Tuesday night "the whole controversy" over assisted suicides could be resolved by certifying doctors to perform assisted suicides.

"All we have to do to solve the whole controversy is have the medical profession come forward (and) lay the guidelines down," Kevorkian -- who has admitted helping 44 people die since 1990 -- said on Larry King Live. "The guidelines say only certain doctors can do it, and if you don't, we're going to punish you."

On his first assisted suicide . . .		(315K/28 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
Solving the controversy . . .		(132K/12 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
A medical problem . . .		(98K/9 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Kevorkian -- the leading U.S. advocate of physician-assisted suicide -- dismissed the assisted-suicide case before the U.S. Supreme Court as "irrelevant."

"It's not a legal issue," he said. "It's a medical issue."

King noted that some people who have never met Kevorkian don't like him, and he asked Kevorkian why.

"Because I'm very forthright and strident," Kevorkian said. "I'm strident purposely because I'm angry that people are trying to make it a crime to help a suffering human being.

"The American Medical Association says the humane way is to let people starve and thirst to death. If you did that to an animal, you'd be put in jail immediately ... In the face of such insanity masquerading as authority, who wouldn't be strident?"

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

Tell us what you think!

You said it...

Kevorkian suggests guidelines for suicides

Related stories:

Related sites:

Terms under which this service is provided to you.