He's always been a bit nutty. But it's been possible to separate the message from its macabre messianic messenger. Until you've watched a loved one suffer a long terminal illness, you can't understand why Kevorkian's "death with dignity" campaign has its adherents.
But there are some serious problems with making death an accepted health treatment option. There is the real possibility that seriously ill people who don't want to burden their family will opt for death instead of a restricted life. Or worse, that a family might even push a family member toward death because they are a financial burden. (The Menendez brothers didn't even wait for their parents to qualify for senior citizen bus passes before they helped them over to "the other side" with the aid of a shotgun.)
The first rule of doctoring is "Do No Harm." Helping people to die doesn't seem to jibe with that mandate. The fact that doctors are supposed to be in the life business was captured in a recent cartoon I saw. It showed patients in a doctor's waiting room. A nurse is sticking her head into the room and saying, "The doctor will kill you now."
So the issues are far from clear. And some believe they need to be discussed. The question is whether a wacko like Kevorkian should be leading the discussion.
He has become more and more bizarre, showing up at court wearing wigs and going on tirades in front of the media.
HIS weirdest to date happened this week in front of the National Press Club. After calling the assembled journalists wimps, Dr. Death suggested that Jesus's death on the cross was undignified.
"Had Christ died in my van with people around him who loved him, it would have been far more dignified," he said.
This is just so weird on so many levels. The most obvious problem with this statement is to suggest that Jesus committed suicide, or even that he went to his death voluntarily.
Without getting too preachy, I think it is safe to say that Jesus wasn't completely on board the crucifixion thing. Saying "Take this cup away from me" isn't exactly like saying "Hook me up to the exhaust pipe, Dr. Jack."
Most Biblical scholars would probably say Jesus's death was more along the "sacrificial" lines than "suicidal."
But that aside, for someone like Kevorkian, who is trying to win over public opinion, to put the image of Jesus dying in the back of a rusted van in the minds of millions of religious faithful is a considerable blunder.
Kevorkian is free to espouse his own strange philosophical dogma. But when that dogma gets out of hand and starts misbehaving, it's time to slap it on the snout and say, "Bad dogma! Bad dogma! Get off the couch, boy."
Whether you believe or not, Jesus' death on the cross has been a major part of life on earth for nearly 2,000 years. The cross is an important symbol of faith for millions of believers under hundreds of different religious brands. The cross stands for the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. If Kevorkian's scenario of Jesus's death occurred, would the faithful worship the Transmission, the Carburetor and the Holy Brake Pads?
The van as a religious icon just doesn't cut it. The idea of people wearing miniature Econoline vans on chains around their necks or hanging Winnebagos over the altars in churches is just a bit too much.
It's an example of how Kevorkian has gone over the deep end. There may be part of the population who would like the right to die in dignity surrounded by their loved ones at a time of their choosing. I don't think many people want to die in the back of a rusting van at the hands of some whacked-out doctor on crusade.
