Dr. Kevorkian, the physician who gained notoriety by performing assisted suicides and euthanasia, was recently released from the Michigan prison where he served eight years of a 10 to 25 year sentence. His parole was granted due to his failing health.

Called Dr. Death by some, Kevorkian remains a controversial figure. He's still proud of his work, pledging to continue his advocacy of assisted suicide -- though he says he'll stay within legal channels this time.

In the 1990s Kevorkian had been operating in defiance of the law, playing a cat-and-mouse game with the authorities. After CBS broadcast a video of him performing euthanasia on Lou Gehrig's sufferer Thomas Youk, however, a jury convicted Kevorkian of second-degree murder.
Kevorkian had hoped to turn his trial into a public forum on assisted suicide and euthanasia. Now, released at the age of 79, Kevorkian finds the forum finally begun: California is currently considering legislation that would legalize assisted suicide, and Kevorkian himself is weighing lucrative public speaking offers.

His release also coincides with a Canadian study that found 63% of palliative care patients in favor of legalizing euthanasia and/or assisted suicide, while 40% would consider it if their condition was a "worst-case scenario." Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the study found a link between the suicide option and unbearable pain -- but also found that emotional states were involved. This is potentially troubling, as respondees also might "[reverse] their desire for suicide...because their physical and mental symptoms subsided, either on their own or through treatment."

Dr. Kevorkian's critics have accused him of taking advantage of his patients' depression to gain notoriety.

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