Don't get me wrong, I support the Oregon Law whole heartedly, but comparing the man to a Saint only feeds into the narcissism that I feel has poisoned the issue.

Kevorkian believes he is above criticizm and above self examination, and any man who thinks this is wrong.

If we are to undertake such a grave issue, we should not allow the patients to be used as merely a means to an end, whether that is the greater end of securing right-to-die legislation, or the more repugnant end of feeding Kevorkian's cult of personality. We shouldn't sacrifice their humanity in order to defend it, and that is what I feel like is happening.

On a personal level, I am really disturbed by the amount of enthusi...

Don't get me wrong, I support the Oregon Law whole heartedly, but comparing the man to a Saint only feeds into the narcissism that I feel has poisoned the issue.

Kevorkian believes he is above criticizm and above self examination, and any man who thinks this is wrong.

If we are to undertake such a grave issue, we should not allow the patients to be used as merely a means to an end, whether that is the greater end of securing right-to-die legislation, or the more repugnant end of feeding Kevorkian's cult of personality. We shouldn't sacrifice their humanity in order to defend it, and that is what I feel like is happening.

On a personal level, I am really disturbed by the amount of enthusiasm that Kevorkian shows for his work. I really hope he doesn't enjoy it. Either way, in my book, he is one creepy dude.

"Kevorkian believes he is above criticizm and above self examination". Well, I don't pretend to know what he believes, or what he has or hasn't self examined. I know what he's done, and what he's fought for, and the price that he paid for doing the right thing.

Anyone who is facing the kind of death his clients faced, which was a trip through Hell all the way down, should have the right to physician-assisted suicide. People are still fighting that in much of our country (many based on 'religious' reasons), but Kevorkian created a tide of awareness concerning the need for it.

I do believe that your objections to Kevorkian are based on anti-Kevorkians' ill-considered opinions about him, a...

"Kevorkian believes he is above criticizm and above self examination". Well, I don't pretend to know what he believes, or what he has or hasn't self examined. I know what he's done, and what he's fought for, and the price that he paid for doing the right thing.

Anyone who is facing the kind of death his clients faced, which was a trip through Hell all the way down, should have the right to physician-assisted suicide. People are still fighting that in much of our country (many based on 'religious' reasons), but Kevorkian created a tide of awareness concerning the need for it.

I do believe that your objections to Kevorkian are based on anti-Kevorkians' ill-considered opinions about him, and have no basis in fact. When they get tired of beating on the real issue, they do spins on the man himself and hope enough of it will stick to sour people on the issue.

I am pro-right to die,and support the cause, and so does this article if you read the whole thing. I don't listen to the anti-Kevorkian "propaganda" except when it has a valid point.

My opinions, in the end, are personal, but they are based on fact. What is more, I base them on the facts that he himself presents, not on the facts that others present about him. I express simply my reactions to reading his statements, seeing his appearance on TV, and his general self-promotion. I feel he is glib when he should be solemn. He is enthusiastic when he should be reticent.

After all, these are human lives we are talking about, and even though I respect and support their decisions, I will never fe...

I am pro-right to die,and support the cause, and so does this article if you read the whole thing. I don't listen to the anti-Kevorkian "propaganda" except when it has a valid point.

My opinions, in the end, are personal, but they are based on fact. What is more, I base them on the facts that he himself presents, not on the facts that others present about him. I express simply my reactions to reading his statements, seeing his appearance on TV, and his general self-promotion. I feel he is glib when he should be solemn. He is enthusiastic when he should be reticent.

After all, these are human lives we are talking about, and even though I respect and support their decisions, I will never feel anything but sadness about their loss. He is grandstanding in a macabre theater, which at least shows poor taste. His quickness to dismiss criticisms even from those who support him is certainly alarming.

I can consider the cause independent of the man, but I have to also consider the man independent of the cause. Just because I may agree with what he fights for, doesn't mean I think he's a good spokesman for it. I feel that the Oregon law was probably passed in spite of Kevorkian, not because of him.

I believe he is also provides a case study in activists who become too enthralled with their own activism, and thus blunt their own effectiveness. Hero-worship is a temptation for any ideologue, but we should resist it, instead of embracing it. That is the only way that we will remain true to our ideas.

Guess we'll have to disagree on this one. You're in favor of what he did, but not his presentations in the way he went about it. I saw the latter as not only acceptable, but perhaps inevitable considering what he was doing.

No doubt others did (and still do!) this kind of thing with a much different approach. Most of them while maintaining a low-profile. Kevorkian didn't want a low-profile. He wanted the public to see the issue for what it really is, and as a consequence he inspired the many grass roots organizations which sprang up to keep physician-assisted suicide in the public mind and to promote legislation.

I wouldn't object if you said that someone with a different personality ...

Guess we'll have to disagree on this one. You're in favor of what he did, but not his presentations in the way he went about it. I saw the latter as not only acceptable, but perhaps inevitable considering what he was doing.

No doubt others did (and still do!) this kind of thing with a much different approach. Most of them while maintaining a low-profile. Kevorkian didn't want a low-profile. He wanted the public to see the issue for what it really is, and as a consequence he inspired the many grass roots organizations which sprang up to keep physician-assisted suicide in the public mind and to promote legislation.

I wouldn't object if you said that someone with a different personality could have done this better. But, that didn't happen. Dr. Jack stepped in to fill the need.

Not curious, just nosey: why is it you are in favor of suffering when a person wants to be put out of their misery?

The
sacredness of life is the most forceful argument, but since that is not
a common concept to all here I'll only state my secular objections.

1. Doctors have traditionally taken an oath to uphold life, not just
the "quality of life." Assisted-suicide, as far as physicians are
concerned, is thus a violation of the spirit of the commitment they
make to society. There are ample ways to take your life without
involving doctors.

2. As to everyone else, who is to make these decisions and who is to
draw the line as to what is a proper reason for suicide? Y...

Not curious, just nosey: why is it you are in favor of suffering when a person wants to be put out of their misery?

The
sacredness of life is the most forceful argument, but since that is not
a common concept to all here I'll only state my secular objections.

1. Doctors have traditionally taken an oath to uphold life, not just
the "quality of life." Assisted-suicide, as far as physicians are
concerned, is thus a violation of the spirit of the commitment they
make to society. There are ample ways to take your life without
involving doctors.

2. As to everyone else, who is to make these decisions and who is to
draw the line as to what is a proper reason for suicide? You attempt
to set-up the question by an appeal to "suffering" and "misery", but
these are subjective terms. What is an appropiate level of suffering?
Folk with depression or mental illness suffer, should they commit
suicide? Should I be held unaccountable if I aid them? The slope is
too slippery.

3. Undo pressure will be generated on those deemed to be a "burden to
society" to take their lives. The elderly and the disabled deserve
more respect. Assisted-suicide in many instances trivializes their
lives and implies that they are disposable. The same message delivered
via the similar argument to encourage abortion for Downs' Syndrome has
already generated a strong reaction among advocates for tose with the
disability.

4. The willingness of society to take lives in an area can never be
isolated. Be it euthanasia, abortion, starvation, capital punishment
or any other instance, the acceptence of such practices only coarsens
our culture. Accepting death in one circumstance only makes use accept
it more easily in the next.

Make no mistake, I do not encourage anyone to take their own life. If,
however, they make this decision, there are enough ways to do it that
you do not have to involve another person.

Thanx for your explanations. I could easily argue with them, but I didn't ask for the purpose of generating an argument.

Is it just me or is this site not very cut-and-paste friendly?

Depends on what you're cut&pasting, or copy&pasting, from. Unless you're using a pure text editor, you're liable to get breaks simply because the source does more than text. I would guess you used the ClipMark page which stayed up when your connection was lost.

After a couple of bad ClipMark comments, I learned two things.

1. Use the Preview button. If you see something layed out poorly, push the Preview screen to one side while you correct the original [tip: a line which brea...

Thanx for your explanations. I could easily argue with them, but I didn't ask for the purpose of generating an argument.

Is it just me or is this site not very cut-and-paste friendly?

Depends on what you're cut&pasting, or copy&pasting, from. Unless you're using a pure text editor, you're liable to get breaks simply because the source does more than text. I would guess you used the ClipMark page which stayed up when your connection was lost.

After a couple of bad ClipMark comments, I learned two things.

1. Use the Preview button. If you see something layed out poorly, push the Preview screen to one side while you correct the original [tip: a line which breaks too early can be fixed by deleting the space (which apparently contains a line-break code) after the final word and then hitting the spacebar to add a clean space]. Then cancel the Preview screen and get another (fresh, clean...) Preview screen via the original.

2. The "characters remaining" counter is broken. If you're cutting back wordage to stay within the 2,000 character max, the counter might tell you you're okay but you hit the "Add Comment" button and you may well find that your comment gets truncated and you have yourself a message saying you went over the limit.