Doctor Jack

I never liked Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who died the other day at the age of 83. I thought it was barbaric that he would consider assisting in suicides committed terminally ill patients, encouraging such people to take their own lives. I was completely turned off by the idea that the decision to live or die should be in the hands of a doctor or anyone else. I oppose euthanasia for the same reason I personally oppose abortion (though I favor legalizing it) and for the same reason I also oppose capital punishment: Only God is allowed to determine who lives, who dies, and how and when they die.

However, I am well aware that Kevorkian started a debate over the right to euthanize oneself or another to end suffering from a terminal diseases or affliction, and I understand (but do not agree with) the opinions of those who would choose to die on their own terms if ever faced with such illnesses. It's a legitimate debate that no one can avoid taking a stand on, and Dr. Kevorkian made that debate possible. Though his name became a punch line, the question over when and how to die when suffering from AIDS, cancer, MS, or Lou Gehrig's disease (among others) will go on for ages.

Whose life is it, anyway?