Kevorkian Crusade Grows Bolder

There’s no stopping Dr. Death now - or so it seems.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who declared after his most recent court victory May 14 that nothing short of being “burned at the stake” would stop his crusade for physician-assisted suicide, has helped three people take their lives in the last 10 days, his most active period in years.

“He seems to understand that he can become bolder because it’s become increasingly clear that you can’t get a conviction,” said Yale Kamisar, a University of Michigan law professor and Kevorkian opponent.

The three patients had come to Michigan from New Jersey, Virginia and Ohio, seeking the suicide doctor’s help. The most recent suicide was on Thursday.

On Friday about 35 protesters - many in wheelchairs, some wearing toe tags and one dressed like the Grim Reaper - demonstrated in front of Kevorkian’s lakefront home in a Detroit suburb. Fake blood drained slowly down the street.

“He’s been very successful in changing the debate to make it easier to kill people with disabilities,” said Carol Cleigh of Evanston, Ill., one of the protesters.

Kevorkian has assisted in 31 suicides since 1990, and has been acquitted five times in three trials.