Jack Kevorkian In Hospital With Kidney Problems

ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- A lawyer says assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian is in a Detroit-area hospital with pneumonia and kidney problems.

Mayer (MAY'-uhr) Morganroth says Kevorkian was reluctant but agreed to go to Beaumont Hospital on Wednesday night. He predicts Kevorkian will be there for several days.

Kevorkian turns 83 next week. Morganroth says his health is not in grave danger but "it's not a good thing right now."

Kevorkian was released from a Michigan prison in 2007 after serving eight years for second-degree murder. He claims to have assisted in at least 130 suicides.

Comments

[hornedcog]

08:43 AM on 05/28/2011

Eight years spent in prison for assisting others, the Supreme court should be crucified.

[wpbjr2150]

08:23 PM on 05/21/2011

I always thought Dr. Jack Kevorkian should be White House Pysician going back to the Bush days .. god speed Doc and may you live to be a heakthy 100.

[Godweiser]

04:41 PM on 05/20/2011

non-radical35 FansBecome a fan45 minutes ago (3:54 PM)No didn't say that. You did. My pastor is a man, a sinful man just like you and I. The difference between him, you and I is that He and I are forgiven. I don't worship a man. I don't worship myself, I don't worship statues or saints. I worship the living God of Heaven. Jesus Christ.

What is it about religion that enables grown adults to act like total children? Seriously, this guy's argument is down to "Neener neener neener, I'm saved but yer gonnn-na buuuuu-rn!"

[Godweiser]

06:45 AM on 05/20/2011

I watched my aunt wither away to nothing from a rare liver cancer that struck her down in the prime of health. I can't help but think that she would have taken the assisted suicide option if it were an option. I know that some people can't conceive of that happening to them, but I recently had to contemplate death and experience extremis (which I managed to narrowly avoid) and I suppose my view is altered. When quality of life becomes such that you're too weak to do anything but lay there and there's no actual relief in sight, I definitely want to have the choice; it's something no number of 'god fearin' meddlers should have a say in when it comes to myself. I pulled through, but it was on willpower and the skill of my new doctors, one of whom has been practicing since John F. Kennedy was president; I wanted to live. But I also understand that there comes a point where you run out of strength, where you simply can't carry on, and you crave nothing more than to go to sleep and never wake up again. I've been to that place, and I was brought back. I understand, from a personal perspective, what Kevorkian advocates and why he advocates it. I don't know if words can quite convey the sensations and what goes through one's head in the situations he tries to alleviate, but I can say that I appreciate the compassion for what it is from the bottom of my heart. Life is sweet, when you have it and you have your health, live it fully. But know that the time may when maybe life is agony, when your mind is barely its own and your body is a prison. That is when death becomes sweet as well. May it never happen to some of you who rail against this for abstract philosophical reasons, you people who have never had to deal with the pain and the weakness, the harrowing of wasting away and being trapped in your own body, in such discomfort that you are delirious and unable to focus your thoughts.

[Str84Ward]

05:02 AM on 05/20/2011

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE. MEDICAL DIRECTIVE. Make a bunch of copies, keep them NO secret. THIS is your only control, should you be in a position where you do not or others believe you do not. Rocketlawyer.com, cedars-sinai.edu and others provide free forms. Be VERY specific. Be very clear. Notarize and witness. Living wills are moot IF you are on life support for ages and/or die with those you placed in your will to be grieved to a point of "not" being who you thought they were when you wrote it to start with. MEDICAL DIRECTIVE. asap.
Don't debate. Dont compain. You HAVE rights. It is YOUR reponsibility to TAKE charge of YOU or someone else may have no choice and that would be only your personal fault.IF you are a "DNR"person, then be one now, not later.

[BornOKtheFirstTime]

12:30 AM on 05/20/2011

I hope someone who knows him personally is reading these comments and makes him aware of the outpouring of support and admiration which is being expressed here. He really is a hero, battling against the darkness of primitive, reactionary superstitions.

[shutterbabe]

10:08 PM on 05/19/2011

I commented when this thread was anew earlier in the day. I am drawn back to this article because it is a powerful subject, one that will touch each and every person here inevitably. Many have shared poignant stories about their loved ones who suffered terrible endings. And why? The same reason that medical marijuana is not easily accessible to those who need relief. What kind of society refuses to see that it is inhumane to deny a known remedy or a graceful exit, that final sigh in a safe environment?

One of the points I would like to reiterate is that it is essential to make a Living Will no matter how old you are in this moment. Do it! Get an Advance Directive prepared and have it filed in your medical chart. Choose your personal representative wisely! I have witnessed 2 scenarios that were heartbreaking. One, a beloved friend who had his affairs in order, firm decisions made about his ending. They were not honored. For financial reasons his wife circumvented his desire to not be kept alive with machines. She bought herself weeks when he was brain dead while she manipulated his money to her advantage.

My best friend died 18 months ago without the necessary papers to ensue the ending I knew she wanted, as we spoke about it philosophically. Her family would not let her go for their own emotional reasons. Weeks of suffering. No hope.

A Living Will is an act of Love.

[Charlene Eannel]

08:15 PM on 05/19/2011

After watching my beautiful brother live with Lou Gehrig's disease and have to die a disgusting horrible death by starving himself to death, assisted suicide needs to be legalized under certain conditions. The disease itself is enough to deal with, but he should have been allowed to die in a much more peaceful way, surrounded by his family and without the suffering and pain he most likely endured in the week or so he spent in hospice while his body slowly died in front of us as each organ one by one shut down until his heart finally gave out. No human being, no family needs to endure that when there are better alternative. As has been said, our pets die in a more humane way. Religion has no place in that decision, it's an individual's right, in that type of situation, to die with dignity. I'm sure if he could have moved any part of his body, which he couldn't only his eyeballs, he would have taken some pills or God forbid a gun to end his suffering. He suffered enough and he deserved, along with every terminally-ill person, to die in a loving peaceful environment. Wake up, people!

[shutterbabe]

09:49 PM on 05/19/2011

Charlene, My deepest condolences on the loss of your brother. Your comment was incredibly powerful and I feel honored to have read it. Everything you have written is painfully true. I have had two similar experiences with dear ones in the last three years. We all should have the birthright to live in freedom. Our death should be determined with liberty as well. I believe in a painless exit with free will. My heart goes out to you.

[drkatraphael]

07:59 PM on 05/19/2011

ALL states and provences should have legalized physician assisted suicide for ANY incurable or debilitating situation - not just fatal diseases. This is SUPPOSED to be a FREE country where citizens have the right to self determination. For those of you who don't want it - just ignore it and don't use it - but for those of us who want it and need it, it needs to be available to us.

[edgarcaycedoc]

07:33 PM on 05/19/2011

Dear Jack--you are a pioneer who has made the last days of many of us more tolerable. I am thankful that I have had several friends as well as people in my family who were confident enought that their life could speak for what they were, that they could seek a gentle exit rather than the excruciating pain the Christian Fundamentaliban insists they should have to endure "in the name of God."

[rrfotobus]

07:25 PM on 05/19/2011

Mr. K. has been doing for years what has become a popular and needed thing common in wills: a living will that designates that you do not want to be kept alive by extrodinary means if your life has become vegetative. Also, Hospice has been permitting, with the permission of the family doctor, caretakers to administer pain medication in the closing days of a loved one's life. There is flexibility in that program (read between the lines). There does come a time in a person life where hanging on to life while suffering greatly becomes moot. Yes, my wife and I both have living wills, and the courage to execute those wills as needed to do the right thing.

[edgarcaycedoc]

07:35 PM on 05/19/2011

A living will, an advance directive, and a DNR are necessary for anyone who hopes to never have to suffer a lengthy and painful death, for the sole reason that the Christian Fundamentaliban has declared "life" is sacred. But--in the larger scheme of things--death, also, is sacred.

[WilmaJune]

10:26 PM on 05/19/2011

A Living Will must be carried with you at all times to be used effectively. If an ambulance is called, the hospital will do everything possible to save you. My father-in-law had a Living Will. He awoke to a heart attack and called the ambulance. In his pain, he forgot about the Living Will. The hospital did everything to help him, but he did not survive.

[rodnox]

07:11 PM on 05/19/2011

HANG IN THERE JACK-------THANKS FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE

[non-radical]

06:50 PM on 05/19/2011

Why are they treating him? Let him be a shining example of what he preaches. Help him "Die with Dignity" pull the plug.

[EmmaDarian]

07:22 PM on 05/19/2011

He preached that those who want to die with dignity should. Not that everyone had to.

Does it bother you that he helped people who were suffering?

[Andres64]

07:28 PM on 05/19/2011

I love the waay all the "small government" GOPTers can't mind their own business.

[oldwarhorse]

06:31 PM on 05/19/2011

Naturally if you don't agree with the majority on this site you're comments are deleted.

[Annie Snyder]

06:39 PM on 05/19/2011

Only if you do it in a way that is offensive and against the terms of service. It should be quite possible to write a opinion stating that you did not agree with Mr. Kevorkian's opinion or work that would be acceptable.

[Bike Commuter]

06:54 PM on 05/19/2011

If you read through the comment history here you would see that is incorrect. There are some pretty bad comments here that go against the majority opinion. That is actually unusual because this is a story about a public figure with a serious illness. The site rules expressly state that comments which celebrate the illness of a person are not allowed.

[oldwarhorse]

07:27 PM on 05/19/2011

funny that. when billy graham was sent to the hospital 75% of the comments were negative. none of them were removed that I could see... things like " i hope he dies soon" or "can't die soon enough for me" were a fairly common thread throughout the posts. Perhaps it is only my imagination but it looks like your theory of censorship due to someone's illness is incorrect.

[Tom Servo]

06:26 PM on 05/19/2011

Get well soon!