How Dr. Kevorkian Became “Dr. Death”

Dr. Jack Kevorkian (1928-2011), an American pathologist from Michigan, was one of the first vocal advocates of the “right to die” movement and helped to raise public awareness about end-of-life issues. Not only did he passionately advocate for physician-assisted death in media interviews, but he also became involved in helping terminally ill patients to end their lives.

Beginning in 1990, Dr. Kevorkian started publicly assisting patients in ending their lives through the use of a medical device he created. After being hooked up to the device, patient could then choose to end their own lives by pushing a button and self-administering a lethal combination of medications. His first publicly known case involved Janet Adkins, a 54-year-old woman from Portland, Oregon, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Though she was still in the early stages of the disease and relatively functional, she feared the progressive loss of her mental faculties. After meeting with Mrs. Adkins and her family, who were in agreement about her decision to hasten her death, Dr. Kevorkian assisted her in dying through the use of his machine.

Once news programs started broadcasting about Dr. Kevorkian’s willing to help patients die, patients from across the United States started seeking out his assistance. They suffered from a wide range of conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), chronic pain conditions, and other debilitating illnesses. However, not all of his patients were terminally ill in the traditional sense, as some had chronic but not immediately life-threatening conditions. This became a point of significant controversy, as critics argued that some patients might have benefited from better pain management, psychiatric care, or simply more time to reconsider their decision.

Between 1990 and 1998, Dr. Kevorkian claimed to have assisted in approximately 130 deaths. His actions sparked intense national debate about end-of-life care, patient autonomy, and the role of physicians in helping patients die. Dr. Kevorkian documented these deaths, often on videotape, to demonstrate that each patient was acting voluntarily and had capacity when they made their final decision. In interviews, Dr. Kevorkian explained that the patients who sought his help often felt abandoned by healthcare institutions that failed to adequately address their suffering. For example, some patients had exhausted conventional treatments and were terminally ill with no other options. Other patients feared an inevitable loss of dignity and autonomy due to a progressive disease such as Alzheimer’s or ALS. Dr. Kevorkian saw himself as their advocate, arguing that terminally ill patients who were suffering unbearably should have the right to die with dignity, and that physicians should be permitted to help them. The medical establishment largely condemned his methods, taking a hard stance against physician assistance in dying, and he earned the nickname “Dr. Death” from the media.

Over the course of three years (1994-1997), Dr. Kevorkian was tried in court four times for assisting over 130 patients in dying, but he avoided conviction each time by arguing that he was simply honoring patients’ wishes and helping to relieve unbearable suffering by providing them the means to end their own lives through the use of his device. However, then in 1998, Dr. Kevorkian videotaped himself directly administering a lethal injection to Thomas Youk, a 52-year-old patient with ALS who had advanced muscle and motor weakness. Dr. Kevorkian first videotaped Mr. Youk’s consented to the procedure, and then Dr. Kevorkian videotaped himself directly administering the lethal injection to Mr. Youk, ending his life. After this, Dr. Kevorkian sent the footage to a news program, 60 Minutes, which nationally broadcast his actions.

Dr. Kevorkian was once again tried for assisting with a patient’s death, and this time he was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of Mr. Youk’s. Dr. Kevorkian served eight years in prison before being paroled in 2007. His actions, while controversial and legally problematic, helped bring end-of-life issues into national public discourse. And his activism eventually led to the legalization of physician-assisted death in the United States, beginning with Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act in 1997. This Act allowed for legal and ethical safeguards to begin governing end-of-life assistance for terminally ill individuals and led the way for a handful of other states to legalize physician-assisted death over the following decades.