
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 6, 1991                   TAG: 9102060062
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PONTIAC, MICH.                                LENGTH: Short

SUICIDE MACHINE USE BANNED

A judge said Tuesday Dr. Jack Kevorkian was more interested in getting publicity than in helping the terminally ill, and she banned him from again using his drug-injecting "suicide machine."

Oakland County Circuit Judge Alice Gilbert made permanent her earlier order that Kevorkian refrain from assisting anyone with suicide.

On June 4, Kevorkian helped Janet Adkins, 54, of Portland, Ore., use his machine to inject herself with a fatal drug dose. Adkins suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

"As a physician, Dr. Kevorkian was morally, ethically, professionally and legally obligated to adhere to the current standards of medical practice," Gilbert wrote. Doctor-assisted suicides clearly violate those standards, she said.

In a scathing opinion, Gilbert said Kevorkian showed a pattern of seeking recognition through "bizarre behavior" and showed "unabashed disregard and disrespect for his profession."

"His real goal is self-service, rather than patient service," she said. "The reasons why Dr. Kevorkian has been unable to find employment in any accredited hospital are made patently clear to the court."

Kevorkian, 62, a retired pathologist from Royal Oak who last worked at a hospital in 1982, was charged in December with first-degree murder in Adkins' death. Clarkston District Judge Gerald McNally dismissed the charge, saying Michigan has no law against assisted suicide.

Tuesday's ruling was on a civil suit brought by prosecutors to prevent Kevorkian from using the machine again or building another one.

by CNB