> [Kevorkian trial]
This particular case was not that simple. The ALS patient in this case was physically capable of making the willful act necessary to end his own life (when appropriately attached to an apparatus for this that Dr. K uses frequently), but in this case he did not--the Dr. actually took that act. "Consent" is not so clear here. If he was capable of expressing a desire to die, and capable of doing the act, why didn't he? I certainly don't think suicide should be a crime, even when assisted, but if a patient /can/ perform the final act himself but /will/ not, then I think his verbal consent is of dubious value, and it is appropriate for a jury to look into questions such as whether the family pressured the doctor into performing the procedure, or whether the doctor's own agenda was better served than the patient.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC