WE DID KNOW JACK

Dr Jack Kevorkian, 83, more famously know as "Dr. Death" for assisting over 130 terminally ill people to commit humane suicide between 1990 and 1999, ironically died peaceably in his sleep June 3rd, in Michigan, one of 47 states yet to legalize suicide for those in need. Ironic because Kevorkian always maintained he was promoting legalized suicide with his own end in mind: "I may end up terribly suffering..wanting some colleague to be free to help me when I say the time has come. I'm fighting for me...and if it helps everyone else, so be it."

Al Pacino portrayed a truly bizarre and obsessed Kevorkian in the movie, "You Don't Know Jack". While making for fascinating entertainment, the title got it wrong. All we needed to know about Jack is that he saw a compassionate medical need not being addressed and he dedicated his life to correcting it. Batting .060 in baseball may be a ticket to Palookaville, but in life those three states of fifty make Dr. Kevorkian a batting champ for humanity.

Also published in the Daily Herald, June 13, 2011