Dr. Sidney Wanzer Lends Support to Dr. Kevorkian

Earlier on this blog, I reported on a New York Times editorial critical of Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

Dr. Sidney Wanzer, president of Compassion and Choices of Greater Boston, has written an article published yesterday (June 6, 2007) in USA Today entitled ‘Dr. Death’ served us all with time in prison in which he explains that supporters of Dr. Kevorkian claim that he

did all of us a service by pointing out what he thought was the right of a dying, suffering person to have autonomy over the manner and timing of death. In doing so, he brought this matter to the acute attention of the public in a way that no one had done before.

The latter is the important outcome. Kevorkian forced us to examine critically the need for new laws that will allow dying persons to end life in certain circumstances when this is the only truly compassionate treatment.  * * *

Without fearing abuse, we should permit intolerably suffering patients the right to exert this ultimate autonomy in choosing the manner of their dying. Oregon and three countries in Europe allow this, but we all should have that option.

Doctors shouldn’t have to go to jail for acting compassionately.