See Also: Kevorkian, Jack(encyclopedia)

Kevorkian, Jack (sh) and os(2) (iou)


Kevorkian, Jack (sh)




born May 26, 1928, Pontiac, Mich., U.S.

U.S. pathologist, advocate and practitioner of physician-assisted suicide.

He expressed early interest in experimentation on death-row inmates who had been rendered unconscious rather than executed; his ideas negatively affected his medical career. In the 1980s he devised his "suicide machine," with which a person could commit suicide by merely pushing a button, and in the 1990s he assisted in the deaths of over 100 terminally ill persons. His actions provoked furious controversy and led to legislation and referenda; he was tried, convicted twice, and jailed, and his medical license was revoked. In 1998 he was convicted of murder for administering a lethal injection himself and was sentenced to 10-25 years in jail.


os(2) (iou)



os noun2. . M18.
[Latin (stem or-) = mouth.]
Anatomy. An opening or entrance to a passage; spec. one at either end of the cervix of the womb. Orig. only in mod. Latin names of particular structures.