A Compassionate Medical Procedure or Murder?
By As Told by Butterfly’s Resident LMR Eldercare Contributor, Lisa Bayer
Lisa Bayer, J.D., CCM, Certified Geriatric Care Manager, is President of LMR Eldercare, LLC, a private elder care advocacy firm located in northern New Jersey.
When a friend of mine suggested I write an article for Butterfly about the death of Jack Kevorkian (dubbed “Dr. Death” by many) I thought to myself “what does Kevorkian have to do with elder care?”
I get it now.
First, a few things I learned about Kevorkian.
* In 1990 Dr. Kevorkian, a pathologist, helped Janet Adkins, his first assisted-suicide patient, end her life in the back of his van using a machine he made that delivered lethal drugs to Ms. Adkins. She was 54 years old and suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
*Dr. Kevorkian assisted in approximately 130 suicides during his lifetime. For the last, he served 8 years in prison for second degree murder. He advocated for the right for people to decide how they want to die. He also supported elective medical experimentation on death row inmates as well as others.
* Oregon (in 1997) and Washington (in 2008) have passed legislation making physician-assisted suicide legal under certain circumstances. Under certain circumstances, since 2009 physician-assisted suicide is no longer illegal in Minnesota. It is still illegal in every other state.
Whatever your feelings about Jack Kevorkian and the legality of assisted suicide his notoriety spurred public and private debate and conversations about compassionate pain management, euthanasia and end-of-life care. A so-called “social elephant” in the room.
In the past, when people facing terminal illness could not be cared for at home any longer they went to the hospital and died alone. Now, more and more people are learning that they have choices. For example, hospice emphasizes palliative care rather than curative treatment with the emphasis on quality rather than quantity of life.
And so this is what Kevorkian has to do with elder care. As we contemplate long term care needs, access and desires for ourselves and for our loved ones, partly because of the attention Kevorkian attracted, we are also now more apt to consider our own and our loved one’s feelings, wants and wishes concerning not only long term but end-of-life care.
Lisa Bayer, J.D., CCM, Certified Geriatric Care Manager, is President of LMR Eldercare, LLC, a private elder care advocacy firm located in northern New Jersey.
When a friend of mine suggested I write an article for Butterfly about the death of Jack Kevorkian (dubbed “Dr. Death” by many) I thought to myself “what does Kevorkian have to do with elder care?”
I get it now.
First, a few things I learned about Kevorkian.
* In 1990 Dr. Kevorkian, a pathologist, helped Janet Adkins, his first assisted-suicide patient, end her life in the back of his van using a machine he made that delivered lethal drugs to Ms. Adkins. She was 54 years old and suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
*Dr. Kevorkian assisted in approximately 130 suicides during his lifetime. For the last, he served 8 years in prison for second degree murder. He advocated for the right for people to decide how they want to die. He also supported elective medical experimentation on death row inmates as well as others.
* Oregon (in 1997) and Washington (in 2008) have passed legislation making physician-assisted suicide legal under certain circumstances. Under certain circumstances, since 2009 physician-assisted suicide is no longer illegal in Minnesota. It is still illegal in every other state.
Whatever your feelings about Jack Kevorkian and the legality of assisted suicide his notoriety spurred public and private debate and conversations about compassionate pain management, euthanasia and end-of-life care. A so-called “social elephant” in the room.
In the past, when people facing terminal illness could not be cared for at home any longer they went to the hospital and died alone. Now, more and more people are learning that they have choices. For example, hospice emphasizes palliative care rather than curative treatment with the emphasis on quality rather than quantity of life.
And so this is what Kevorkian has to do with elder care. As we contemplate long term care needs, access and desires for ourselves and for our loved ones, partly because of the attention Kevorkian attracted, we are also now more apt to consider our own and our loved one’s feelings, wants and wishes concerning not only long term but end-of-life care.
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Tags: :, Elder care, Hospice, Lisa Bayer, Oregon, Washington, assisted-suicide, death, dr. Kevorkian, moms, More…
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