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Ross Douthat Knows Jack (Kevorkian)


The New York Times‘ best essayist, Ross Douthat, has an eloquent commentary on the recently deceased Dr. Jack Kevorkian.
Kevorkian was the hero of the recent hagiographic film You Don’t Know Jack, starring Al Pacino as the thanatologist license-revoked doctor.
Douthat describes Kevorkian’s media reception following his release from prison:

After his release from prison in 2007, he was treated like a civil rights revolutionary — with fawning interviews on “60 Minutes,” $50,000 speaking engagements, and an HBO biopic starring Al Pacino.

Kevorkian’s inexplicable groupies submitted to the charms of a serial killer who, immediately after one of his 130 murders, pulled up the man’s shirt and cut out his kidneys.
Douthat resists Kevorkian’s charms:

Kevorkian was obsessed with human experimentation, and pined for a day when both assisted suicides and executions could be accompanied by vivisection.

Douthat’s essay is aptly titled;

“Kevorkian a Killer, not Civil RIghts Hero”

Douthat knows Jack.
Cross-posted on Egnorance

Michael Egnor

Senior Fellow, Center for Natural & Artificial Intelligence
Michael R. Egnor, MD, is a Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at State University of New York, Stony Brook, has served as the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery, and award-winning brain surgeon. He was named one of New York’s best doctors by the New York Magazine in 2005. He received his medical education at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital. His research on hydrocephalus has been published in journals including Journal of Neurosurgery, Pediatrics, and Cerebrospinal Fluid Research. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hydrocephalus Association in the United States and has lectured extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

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