Quotes by Jack Kevorkian

“I gambled and I lost. I failed in securing my options for this choice for myself, but I succeeded in verifying the Dark Age is still with us.”

“A transfer of money should never be involved in this profound situation. Although illness is profound, too, but medicine's a business today. It's a business.”

“The Supreme Court of the United States... has validated the Nazi method of execution in... concentration camps, starving them to death.”

“I will admit, like Socrates and Aristotle and Plato and some other philosophers, that there are instances where the death penalty would seem appropriate.”

“Not one has shown an iota of fear of death. They want to end this agony.”

“If Christ can die in a barn, I think the death of a human in a van is not so bad.”

“You've gotta know what death is to know life!”

“I hate to say this, but I'll repeat it: After death, all we know that you do is stink.”

“I'm trying to knock the medical profession into accepting its responsibilities, and those responsibilities include assisting their patients with death.”

“As a medical doctor, it is my duty to evaluate the situation with as much data as I can gather and as much expertise as I have and as much experience as I have to determine whether or not the wish of the patient is medically justified.”

“My ultimate aim is to make euthanasia a positive experience.”

“Fear controls you.”

“I don't enjoy good food. I don't enjoy flashy cars. I don't care if I live in a dump. I don't enjoy good clothes. This is the best I've dressed in months.”

“Freedom has a price. Most people aren't willing to pay it.”

“There is nothing anyone can do anyway. The public has no power. The government knows I'm not a criminal. The parole board knows I'm not a criminal. The judge knows I'm not a criminal.”

“Let's hope you feel better now.”

“The patient's autonomy always, always should be respected, even if it is absolutely contrary - the decision is contrary to best medical advice and what the physician wants.”

“My religion centers in different areas than what's considered conventional religion.”

“I'm not a romantic.”

“What looks like enjoyment is the sneer of contempt. That's not a smile.”

“Am I a criminal? The world knows I'm not a criminal. What are they trying to put me in jail for? You've lost common sense in this society because of religious fanaticism and dogma.”

“This could never be a crime in any society which deems himself enlightened.”

“The American people are sheep. They're comfortable, rich, working. It's like the Romans, they're happy with bread and their spectator sports. The Super Bowl means more to them than any right.”

“You're basing your laws and your whole outlook on natural life on mythology. It won't work. That's why you have all these problems in the world. Name them: India, Pakistan, Ireland. Name them-all these problems. They're all religious problems.”

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