Kevorkian, 82, is the topic of a new HBO
documentary "Kevorkian" which reviews a colorful career that included
an eight-and-a-half year prison term for second-degree murder between 1999 and
2007. The 90-minute film includes his musings about life, death and the future,
and interviews with close family members, colleagues, and even his former
cellmate -- with some frank admissions. "I think I'm afraid of dying as
much as anybody is," Kevorkian, a former pathologist, told Reuters
Television. "But that's only because I'm comfortable."
"Kevorkian" reveals an oft-overlooked creative side to "Dr
Death": A provocative painter, composer, quirky inventor, a bad filmmaker,
and a terrible golfer. But the film also follows one of America's most
polarizing figures as he runs for Congress in 2008. So how does he feel about
his worldwide reputation as "Dr. Death?" "I suppose if they said
Dr. Life, people would be happy," Kevorkian said. "People are taught
that life is a wonderful gift. Oh sure, if you're healthy, eating well, got a
job, but ask someone in Darfur or in Afghanistan if he thinks life's a gift.
Many wouldn't agree with what we say," he added. Kevorkian said the world
has a hypocritical attitude toward voluntary euthanasia, or assisted suicide.
The Armenian-American pathologist said he had no regrets, not even his
imprisonment for the 1998 death of Thomas Youk, 52, who was in the final stages
of a form of motor neuron disease. Film footage of Kevorkian giving Youk a
lethal injection was shown on national television.
But he admitted that some
moments during his incarceration were torture.
