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 advocating 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 publicly assisted patients in ending their lives through the use of medical device that he created, which allowed patients to self-administer a lethal injection and end their own lives. His first publicly known case was 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.

The patients who sought Dr. Kevorkian’s assistance came from across the United States, drawn by media coverage of his willingness to help them die. They suffered from a wide range of conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, ALS (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 death. Dr. Kevorkian typically documented these deaths on videotape, claiming he wanted to prove that patients were acting voluntarily and were of sound mind when they made their final decision. Many of the patients who sought out Dr. Kevorkian reportedly did so because they felt abandoned by a medical system that seemed unable or unwilling to address their suffering. Some had exhausted conventional treatments while others feared the loss of dignity and autonomy that progressive disease would bring. Dr. Kevorkian saw himself as their advocate, arguing that terminally ill patients suffering unbearably should have the right to die with dignity and that physicians should be permitted to help them. His actions sparked intense national debate about end-of-life care, patient autonomy, and the role of physicians in death. The medical establishment largely condemned his methods, and he earned the macabre nickname “Dr. Death” from the media.

Dr. Kevorkian was tried in court four times for his actions, but avoided conviction each time by arguing that he was simply honoring patients’ autonomous wishes and helping to relieve unbearable suffering by providing them the means to end their own lives. However, in 1998, he videotaped himself directly administering a lethal injection to Thomas Youk, a 52-year-old patient with ALS who had consented to the procedure and whose family supported the decision. Dr. Kevorkian videotaped himself administering the lethal injection to Mr. Youk’s and then provided the footage to 60 Minutes, which broadcast it nationally.

This time, Dr. Kevorkian was tried and convicted of second-degree murder for Mr. Youk’s death. He served eight years in prison before being paroled in 2007. His actions, while controversial and legally problematic, helped bring end-of-life issues into public discourse. His activism contributed to ongoing debates that eventually led to the legalization of physician-assisted death in several U.S. states, beginning with Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act in 1997, allowing for legal and ethical safeguards to begin to governing new forms of end-of-life assistance for terminally ill individuals.