Editorial: Slippery slope of assisted suicides

Wednesday, June 10, 1998 | 9:58 a.m.

DR. Jack Kevorkian's pathetic attempt to sugarcoat the issue of assisted suicide, by offering for transplant the kidneys of a Las Vegas man he helped kill, is unconscionable.

One of the primary objections to assisted suicide is that it takes us down a slippery slope that diminishes the respect for human life. Once we stop valuing life, what's to stop society from taking the next step -- ending the lives of people who are near death or suffering to harvest their organs for healthier people. These fears are only too well founded after Kevorkian's actions this weekend.

Not only did Kevorkian again show his contempt for human life, he unwittingly revealed how the harvest of the kidneys was simply a public relations ploy to make some people believe that assisted suicide can serve a greater good by giving needed organs to other people. Shortly after he announced at a Sunday news conference that he was present at the assisted suicide and the harvesting of Joseph Tushkowski's kidneys, Kevorkian contended that he obeyed the medical protocols for organ transplants, but this assertion was quickly dispelled by Oakland County, Mich., Coroner L.J. Dragovic.

It's obvious Kevorkian wasn't serious about donating the kidneys because he didn't follow basic medical procedures for removing an organ. The body, Dragovic said, was mutilated during the harvesting of the kidney and the incision was amateurish. "They didn't remove his sweater. They just pulled it up and cut the belly," Dragovic said. "I don't want to insult people who work in slaughterhouses, but this looked like it was done there." Because proper medical procedures weren't followed, the kidneys were rendered useless for a transplant.

Even those people who previously doubted the homicidal tendencies of Kevorkian, the retired pathologist who had his medical license revoked, would be hard pressed to continue believing that Kevorkian is sincere about attempting to end the suffering of patients. This latest incident demonstrates not only the moral dangers of assisted suicide but shows how morally bankrupt Kevorkian is.