Death on Demand

Jack Kevorkian and the Right-to-Die Movement

Michael DeCesare

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781442242142
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: Social Sciences

Death on Demand explores the polarizing role of Jack Kevorkian—"Dr. Death"—as the most visible leader of the right-to-die movement. From a feature on the cover of Time magazine to interviews on shows like 60 Minutes, Kevorkian was a high-profile figure in the right-to-die movement, capturing constant media attention as he helped more than one hundred people kill themselves.

The book opens with the death of Janet Adkins in 1990—Kevorkian's first assisted suicide—then travels back to Kevorkian's medical school days and follows his nearly four decades as a lone activist. Death on Demand draws on Kevorkian's interviews and published work as well as newspaper and magazine articles to describe the doctor's publicity stunts, criminal trials, years in prison, and activities after he was paroled. Author Michael DeCesare examines Kevorkian's actions in the context of the right-to-die movement to understand his crucial role in bringing the controversial practice of assisted suicide into the public conversation.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• “A Self-Imposed Mission”
• “They’ll Be After Me for This”
• “A Serial Mercy Killer on Our Hands”
• “We’re Some Friends of Dr. Kevorkian’s”
• “A Game of Cat and Mouse”
• “I Prefer Jail to Bail”
• “Well, Sir, Consider Yourself Stopped”
• Conclusion
• Notes
• References
• Index