Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 14, 1993 TAG: 9312140022
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DETROIT LENGTH: Medium
People suffering from illnesses from which they are unlikely to recover have a constitutional right to commit suicide, Wayne County Circuit Judge Richard Kaufman said. But he said the decision to die must be made rationally and without undue influence.
"It is hard to imagine a state action that would have a greater intrusive effect upon a person's quest to make personal decisions based upon their personal moral beliefs than the state's blanket proscription of assistance of rational suicide," the judge said, adding that the law was too broad.
The ruling came on the 14th day of a hunger strike by Kevorkian, who was released back to Oakland County Jail from a hospital later Monday after doctors determined he had not suffered a heart attack. Kevorkian, 65, had complained of chest pains over the weekend.
Kaufman ruled in the case of Donald O'Keefe, 73, a bone-cancer patient who died Sept. 9 in Kevorkian's presence and with his counseling. Under Kaufman's ruling, if Kevorkian can show that O'Keefe met the conditions he outlined, the case could be dismissed; a hearing was set for today.
Kevorkian's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, said he believes Kaufman's ruling will be binding in two other cases against Kevorkian, including one in neighboring Oakland County. But prosecutors in Wayne and Oakland counties said it wouldn't be.
Kevorkian has been present at 20 suicides since 1990. Michigan lawmakers earlier this year made assisting a suicide a felony with a maximum penalty of four years' imprisonment and a $2,000 fine.
Fieger filed a motion Monday seeking to dismiss the assisted suicide charge in Oakland County on the basis of Kaufman's ruling. He also planned to seek a similar dismissal on another assisted suicide in Wayne County.
Oakland County Prosecutor Richard Thompson said the two jurisdictions were separate, and Kaufman's opinion wouldn't affect his prosecution of Kevorkian.
"The judge's decision . . . seems to cause more problems than it solves," Thompson said.
A constitutional law expert said that according to Kaufman's interpretation, Michigan could regulate but not ban suicides.
"The statute has to be narrow enough to prevent irrational suicide and allow those suicides that would be rational," attorney Leonard Niehoff said.
by CNB