Jack Kevorkian
After talks with her husband, sons, minister, and local doctors; Janet Adkins decided she didn¹t want to undergo the sustained mental deterioration that Alzheimer¹s Disease caused (Uhlman 111). She began to realize she had the disease when she started forgetting songs and failed to recognize notes as she played the piano (Filene 188). ³She read in Newsweek about Dr. Jack Kevorkian and his ŒMercitron¹ machine, then saw him on the ŒDonahue¹ Television show² (Filene 188). With her husband¹s consent but objections by sons and doctors, she telephoned him to arrange to kill herself (Filene 188). She still had a life expectancy of at least ten years with the illness, but she wished to die. She wanted to die before the disease robbed her of her competence (Larson 229). Kevorkian later killed Adkins and faced the consequences boldly (Hendin, ³Suicide in America² 247). The background, process, and effects of Dr. Kevorkian¹s questionable first patient, Janet Adkins, have a very detailed story in them. Janet Adkins led a very productive life up to and even after she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer¹s, but she couldn¹t handle losing control of her brain (Filene 188). She was 54 years old and lived in a wealthy Oregon su
There is a very detailed story in the background, process, and effects of Dr. Kevorkian¹s first patient, Janet Adkins. He killed Janet Adkins even though she was not terminally ill by any means. Kevorkian said that any disease that shortens life, no matter how much, is terminal (Larson 229). Clearly his lack of knowledge of her and his investment in promoting assisted suicide disqualified him from determining how ill she was. Also the method of which he carried out the suicide raised questions (Hendin, ³Seduced by Death² 130). Among supporters of Euthanasia he became something of an antiestablishment here (Larson 230). This was the first of over a hundred assisted suicides that he would perform (Uhlman 111). In a public park outside Detroit on June 4, 1990; he inserted the intravenous line into her vein as she laid on a cot in a Volkswagen van. He attached EEG electrodes to her wrists and ankles and inserted syringe into her arm (Filene 189). She then pulled the lever on the wooden, three-chambered device (Uhlman 111). ³Within ten seconds her eyelids flickered and drooped. She said ŒThank you, thank you.¹ He replied, ŒHave a nice trip¹² (Filene 189). She became unconscious and six minutes later the EEG showed that her heart stopped beating (Filene 189). The only struggle that occurred was that it took Dr. Kevorkian five tries to insert the intravenous line into her arm (Uhlman 111). The machine worked as planned though, and Kevorkian made no attempt to conceal his role in the death (Larson 229). Filene, Peter. In the Arms of Others. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1998.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Janet Adkins, Board Medicine, Alzheimer¹s Disease, Dr Kevorkian, Carroll Rehmke, Detroit June, Jack Kevorkian, Euthanasia Betzold, Albert Einstein, Kevorkian² Gutmann, ³seduced death², hendin ³seduced death², larson 229, janet adkins, hendin ³seduced, filene 134, gutmann 21, filene 188, uhlman 111, wolfson 56, death² 130, ³seduced death² 130, york ww norton, ww norton company, cursive letter ³a²,
Approximate Word count = 1903
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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