From Scarface to Dr. Death
On May 26, 2009, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Al Pacino is considering the lead role in the upcoming biopic of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, You Don’t Know Jack. Pacino has long been a favorite of mine so I found the move just a bit of a disappointment.
Though the film certainly isn’t in the can yet and it’s far too early to start tossing barbs at producer Barry Levison, it’s fairly likely that the most negative aspects of Kevorkian’s history will never be committed to celluloid. Dr. Death (as he likes to call himself) has gotten quite a pass from society.
Even though he was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 and admitted to assisting 150 people to end their lives, Kevorkian has enjoyed an almost bizarre public forgiveness and cult following. Some people have long viewed him as a compassionate soul who has been made a victim by overbearing and obsolete laws. But, peel away a few more layers of the Kevorkian onion and you’ll find some conflicting imagery.
Kevorkian’s line of work was pathology. As a clinical pathologist (and not an actual Medical Doctor), Kevorkian had neither the ability nor experience to accurately diagnose a patient as being terminally ill. Indeed, testimonies and evidence given during Kevorkian’s trial in Michigan’s criminal court reveal that a number of his victims did not suffer from any discernable terminal illness. In fact, a couple of them weren’t even sick.
In 1998, Kevorkian single-handedly ended the life of Thomas Youk, a 52-year old man with advanced Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). In a video tape later given to the television show 60 Minutes, Youk is seen giving his consent to end his life and Kevorkian administering the deadly cocktail via injection. Kevorkian dared law enforcement to come after him and they did, charging him with second-degree murder and possession of a controlled substance. At the time of the killing, Kevorkian had not held a license to practice medicine for over 8 years.
In his 1991 book, Prescription Medicine: The Goodness of Planned Death, Kevorkian admits to an almost fetish level fascination with human death and a desire to conduct human vivisection – that is the carrying out of medical experiments on dying patients. Kevorkian also admitted to initiating contact with death row inmates in hopes of garnering their permission to conduct what he labeled obitiatric research on them.
In the 1960s, Kevorkian fancied himself something of a painter and produced over 18 oils on canvass depicting death, cannibalism, illness and nightmares.
Kevorkian was paroled from prison in 2007 following his vow to never assist another person to die and a claim of his own terminal illness of Hepatitis C. He has not, however, missed an opportunity to campaign for euthanasia, care-rationing and assisted suicide. The University of Florida, a school that teaches the medical arts and life sciences, hosted Dr. Death in 2008 to discuss the pros and cons of assisted suicide with its student body.
His proponents continue to claim that Kevorkian was a visionary and a compassionate doctor when, in fact, the Hippocratic Oath compels people like Kevorkian to “do no harm” and “give no deadly poisons — even if asked.”
A doctor (yes, even a clinical pathologist) is in a position of public trust and tasked with only two jobs – promoting longevity and ensuring wellness. Killing the chronically ill, terminally ill or disabled members of our society as opposed to caring for them and solving their problems can’t be seen as a building block for misguided hero worship. Kevorkian is a killer. A convicted one. It is both saddening and disturbing to see his agenda of death painted in bright colors and sold as compassionate and forward-thinking.
It’s just killing people.
It’s a shame that someone of Al Pacino’s talent would consider such a tainted project but that’s most surely his prerogative and right. Still, if he knew all the layers to the Kevorkian onion, I wonder if he would feel any enthusiasm with Dr. Death on his list of characters.