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[side_show]

After 8 years Kevorkian is free.  I know folks really hate this dude, but to me it's just horrifying that he went to jail in the first place, nevermind such a harsh sentence.

[theinevitable]

I dunno. Something about a doctor who helps people die seems awful backwards. Seems like the opposite of what a doctor should do? Intellectually I support it, I guess... I don't know.

[Golfhaus]

I am glad that Kevorkian is free, and hope for the day when the things that he did to serve his patients are no longer considered criminal, but dignified. If our pets are sick and suffering, and there's nothing we can do, we put them down to stop their pain. But we don't give ourselves that option, and that always seemed weird to me. If I had a few months to live, and it was going to be full of pain and suffering, and some jackass came to me and said, "That's not allowed! I DEMAND you sit there and waste away, because that's how *I* feel it should be!," I'd probably kill him. Then I'm a murderer, and the gubmint can do the honors.

[linnea]

I am glad that Dr. K is free.

We had a really horrible situation here that hit very close to home for me. A much loved person here was suffering greatly from a terminal illness at a very advanced age. He was given medical treatment way beyond what he wanted. He was suffering so much and he felt that medical intervention had cheated him of a peaceful death. When he finally got home from Anchorage, he committed suicide with a gun. However, he was agile enough to get it and commit the act by himself.

It horrifies me to think of people suffering from terminal illness and wishing that they could end their lives, but are physically unable to do so. I think that Kevorkian did the right thing.

[side_show]

Yeah, my grandfather shot himself due to similar circumstances.  Personally, I wish he'd had a more dignified option.  It would have been such an act of kindess for him to have had a better option, both for him and for us.

[linnea]

Yeah, my grandfather shot himself due to similar circumstances.  Personally, I wish he'd had a more dignified option.  It would have been such an act of kindess for him to have had a better option, both for him and for us.

Mel, that's exactly what I was trying to say about the situation up here.

I wish that he had been able to do it differently. I have no idea how he envisioned it going down, but maybe peacefully falling asleep in his wife's arms might have been a better option than locking her out of the house and getting his sidearm. I have no idea - maybe he wanted it that way? But having the option, that was what I was driving at. He should have had the option.

Then again, he was really pissed off at the medical community for intervening and cheating him of his natural death. So maybe he figured that this was the last way he could take control. The point is, I have no idea. I've never been in that situation. Maybe someday I will be, though, and I want the option. That's why I support Kevorkian.

Gah, I'm getting all choked up thinking about it. I loved them so much because they are incredible people. His wife is still here. She seems like she's managing okay, but I just inwardly grieve for her and I hope she's all right.

[Doc]

Glad to have him back.
I wonder what he's going to do for a living now. Guess some pro-euthenasia group will support him, and he probably has book deals.

[slink]

Glad to have him back.
I wonder what he's going to do for a living now. Guess some pro-euthenasia group will support him, and he probably has book deals.

Yea, his agent says he's going to be doing various speaking appearances and such as well, not all about assisted suicide. And getting back to his woodworking and sailing or whatever it was...
I agree basically with everything people have said, Linnea, Smells and Golfhaus in particular. It amazes me that people can have sex change operations, or have a limb they don't like lopped off (after lots of psychotherapy and judging it's the best option), but dying with dignity is just too much.

[theinevitable]

have a limb they don't like lopped off (after lots of psychotherapy and judging it's the best option)

We had a really frustrating issue with our psych professor where... he just didn't even understand our questions. He was saying that these people are not "mentally ill" once they have the limb removed because... now they are happy. And don't have any Subjective Mental Distress. We were trying to ask "does it not count as a mental disease/disorder if it is incredibly maladaptive? is that not part of the criteria?" and he was just being his usual not-getting-it self. "no, see, they're happy now! So... it's not a mental illness!" Personally, I guess more power to them. If they want to lop off their limmes, and that makes them happy... that's fine. but weird. I mean... I guess this is a recent change... up until the 70's the DSM-IV still considered Homosexuality a mental disorder. So.

I had an issue with that class. That man never understood any of the really interesting and clever questions this really cute girl asked. I was always about to ask the same question.

[jaydub]

He was saying that these people are not "mentally ill" once they have the limb removed because... now they are happy. And don't have any Subjective Mental Distress.

So - does the need to lop off another limb resurface after a while with those folks?  The next time their job gets crappy, or their kid starts listening to bad music and getting poor grades, or whatever anxiety it is they're mischanneling?

[theinevitable]

my understanding is that it is always in regards to a certain limb. In some cases, they had always believed that their arm/leg/whatever didn't belong there-- they suffered a huge amount of upset that this "thing" was on them.

This strikes me as some sort of weird nervous system disorder that we just haven't figured out yet. But that's just me talking out of my ass, you know.

[Nabubrush]

One bit of trivia tangentially related to Kervorkian that I always found interesting is that his . . . odd . . . attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, is Doug Fieger's brother.

[pmcd9]

People can have their limbs removed?  Doctors will do this?

[theinevitable]

I believe they can do it in Scotland.

[KeithHernandez]

Whoa, Whoa, so when you where saying limb you weren't talking about sex changes, you were talking about arms?