"Dr. Death" Runs for Congress

According to a recent article on youdecide2008.com, Dr. Jack Kevorkian has announced his candidacy for the 9^th Congressional District seat in his home state of Michigan. Dr. Kevorkian's plan for election comes despite his admitted lack of political experience. By his own admission, Jack Kevorkian has rarely even voted in the past. Running as an independent, it is no surprise that a major plank of Kevorkian's political platform is the legalization of medical euthanasia. Other topics of importance include his aversion to the war in Iraq and the dangers of a two-party system.

Dr. Kevorkian is best known for his controversial advocacy of doctor-assisted suicide. According to PBS, after graduating from Michigan Medical School, Dr. Kevorkian earned the nickname "Doctor Death" among his colleagues for the publication of his article "The Fundus Oculi and the Determination of Death." This paper discusses his attempts to photograph the eyes of patients as they reached the moment of death. Two years later, the University of Michigan asked him to leave after he presented a paper advocating medical experimentation on consenting convicts on death row.

During the 1990's, Dr. Kevorkian is believed to have assisted in the deaths of over 100 people. The patients offered preplanned euthanasia suffered from painful or terminal diseases. Throughout the 90's, state laws underwent many fluctuations regarding the legality of assisted suicide, as many judges dismissed cases against Dr. Kevorkian In 1998, the state of Michigan outlawed doctor-assisted suicide for the second time, and just two months later voters rejected a proposed law allowing suicide for the terminally ill.