Dr. Jack Kevorkian and Cases of Euthanasia in Oakland County, Michigan, 1990-1998

This letter to the editor reports on a descriptive clinical analysis of the 69 persons who died with the assistance of Dr. Kevorkian in Oakland County, Michigan between 1990-1998. Some of the findings include: only 25% of the people who died with Kevorkian’s assistance were terminally ill acording to autopsy findings; 72% of the people had had a recent decline in health status that may have precipitated the desire to die; & 71% were women. Persons who were divorced or had never married were overrepresented among those who died with Kevorkian’s assistance sugesting the need for a better understanding of the familial & psychosocial context of decision making at the end of life. (5 refs.)