Inclusion Daily Express -- Jack "Dr. Death" Kevorkian Coming To A Theater Near You? (Sept. 13, 2004)

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Jack "Dr. Death" Kevorkian Coming To A Theater Near You?
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
September 13, 2004

DETROIT, MICHIGAN--Even behind bars, "Dr. Death" is still waging his campaign to keep assisted-suicide in the public's eye.

According to a brief item by LifeNews.com, Jack Kevorkian is planning to write a book about his life and the euthanasia crusade he championed.

The working title of the book is "The Life of Dr. Death". Kevorkian would write it with two associates.

Kevorkian also has proposed a movie deal based on the yet-to-be-written book. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple has reportedly agreed to direct the feature film based on the book.

By his own admission, Kevorkian assisted at least 130 people to kill themselves, as part of his campaign to make doctor-assisted suicide legal in the United States. In March of 1999, he was convicted of second-degree murder for inducing the death of Thomas Youk, a man who had amyotropic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Kevorkian was convicted after replaying Youk's video-taped death on the "60 Minutes" television news magazine.

Attempts to have Kevorkian released prior to his first scheduled parole hearing in 2007 have failed.

Disability rights advocates have long opposed Kevorkian and his crusade to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia. They have argued that doing so would essentially make it "open season" for people with disabilities and anyone else who is considered undesirable or a "burden" on society -- particularly at a time when the cost of health care is high. They pointed out that most of those Kevorkian helped end their lives were in emotional, psychological or social crises, not in the final stages of terminal illnesses as was originally believed.

Kevorkian, 76, is currently serving time at the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer, Michigan. Many of his supporters have been petitioning Governor Jennifer Granholm to grant a pardon for Kevorkian, who reportedly has health problems.

Dubbed "Dr. Death" by the media and his opponents, Kevorkian has promised not to assist in any more suicides if released.

Earlier this year, Kevorkian published a 277-page book entitled, "glimmerIQs", in which he reportedly gave his opinions about assisted suicide, diet and other topics.

Related:
"The Suicide Machine" (Detroit Free Press)
http://www.freep.com/suicide/index.htm
"Jack Kevorkian: 'Dr. Death'" (Inclusion Daily Express)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/advocacy/kevorkian.htm

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