What Do You Know About Jack Kevorkian aka Dr. Death? (Part 2)

Jack hoped he could combine his aspiration for medical experiments on the dying with a new campaign for assisted suicide. He wrote articles about this new obsession detailing his thoughts on the ethics involved in euthanasia. His ideas were so controversial; he was only able to have the articles published in an obscure German journal Medicine and Law.

It was during this time that Jack gave a name to the new branch of science he was developing. The word "obitiatry" showed up in ads he posted for patients for this new medical specialty.

In 1988, Kevorkian's article, "The Last Fearsome Taboo: Medical Aspects of Planned Death," was published in Medicine and Law. He defined his intended system of arranged deaths in suicide clinics. The clinics would be called an 'obitoria' where patients with terminal illnesses could choose assisted suicide. Compassionate medical staff would aid their departure. Participants could also cooperate in experiments or donate organs while under anesthesia.

In 1989, Jack invented his first death machine. He built it for $30 from scraps he scavenged from garage sales and junk piles. Jack named that machine the Thanatron which is Greek for "death machine."

In the next article I will cover the history of the patients assisted on Jack's way to conviction and incarceration for murder.

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