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Jack Kevorkian has killed over 17 people since March of this year. His acts have gone almost unreported until his most recent atrocity. Recently, he killed a woman in a Catholic Church. The Catholic Cardinal of Detroit has let it known that this is a tragedy "no matter where it happens." Kevorkian has been leaving bodies in hotel rooms for unsuspecting maids to discover. Kevorkian met last month with the Macomb County Prosecutor to discuss a more dignified way of handling the bodies. This controversial topic has plagued mankind for many years, but only recently has it come to the fore in American politics. Whatever your attitude, if you are interested in the subject, you will want to take a look at this special section listing books dealing with the topic. Seduced by Death: Doctors, Patients, and the Dutch Cure (hb, 256pp) by Herbert Hendin, MD. Mr. Hendin takes a hard look at euthanasia and how it has worked in the Netherlands where it has been legal for some time. He convincingly shows that it has had the effect of cheapening human life to the degree that many people are murdered every year in the name of expediency. He also looks at Dr. Kevorkian and the assisted suicide movement in the US and shows how it fails to live up to its promises and sends us down the slippery slope… Forced Exit: The Slippery Slope from Assisted Suicide to Legalized Murder (hb, 304pp), by Wesley J. Smith. This work is loaded with ammunition for the euthanasia debate. Mr. Smith, who can turn a phrase and a sound bite, punches holes in arguments for doctor assisted suicide and shows how the advocates are merely trying to save money and, at the same time, extinguish human life when that life becomes inconvenient. An excellent book on the subject. Denial of the Soul: Spiritual and Medical Perspectives on Euthanasia and Mortality (hb, 256pp), by M. Scott Peck, MD. Mr. Peck attempts to weigh in on the assisted suicide debate by showing us what a meaningful experience it can be…he neglects to stress how FINAL an experience it can be and what a detrimental effect it can have upon society in general. Dancing with Mr. D.: Notes on Life and Death (hb, 334pp), by Bert Keizer. This is a bone chilling account by a nursing home doctor in Holland who has been at the forefront of implementing the "Dutch Solution". His anecdotes reveal a man who is callous of human life and seems bent upon glorying in its destruction. Horrifying, not bed-time reading, especially from a nursing home bed. What if She Wants to Die? A Husband's Diary (hb, 256pp), by George E Delury. Delury spent six months in prison for killing his wife. He claims that she asked him to kill her. Suspicions run high that he badgered her into it. In any case, he first tried to put her down with an overdose of morphine, and when that did not work, he smothered her. She had a debilitating disease, multiple sclerosis. Appointment with Doctor Death (hb), by Michael Betzold. Mr. Betzold has covered Dr. Kevorkian for many years as a reporter for the Detroit Free Press. In this book he examines the history of Jack Kevorkian through medical cases, grandstanding lawyers and a sensationalizing press. A Chosen Death: The Dying Confront Assisted Suicide (hb, 240pp), by Lonny Shavelson. A portrait of five dying people who chose euthanasia, this book is an arguement for assisted suicide. Euthanasia is not the answer: A hospice Physician's view (hb, 190pp), by David Cundiff. Dr. Cundiff explains why euthanasia is not a reasonable choice for dying patients. He makes the case that people can live out their final days in comfort and with the love and support of friends and family.
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