Kevorkian Runs for Congress

By Pamela Mortimer

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, best known for his role as an assisted suicide advocate, announced Monday that he plans to run for Congress on an independent ticket. If elected, Kevorkian promises to focus on the somewhat obscure Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the rights contained therein. The Ninth Amendment protects rights that are not explicitly outlined elsewhere in the Constitution. Kevorkian’s take on the Amendment is that it protects a person’s right to die through assisted suicide or to refuse to wear a seat belt.

Kevorkian, a 79 year old retired pathologist, is best known for his practice of assisting in the suicides of at least 130 people during 1990-1998. This practice landed the doctor in jail for eight years after he was convicted of second degree murder. Kevorkian openly admitted to assisting in the suicide of a 52 year old man with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Although Kevorkian, also known as Doctor Death, is a staunch supporter of the right to die, he said little about the topic during his press conference held on Monday morning.

Kevorkian made the claim that the government is tyrannical. "You’ve been trained to obey it, not fight for it because the tyrant doesn’t like that," Kevorkian said.

He went on to call his candidacy "audacious, even outrageous", and claims to be devoid of interest in most politics.

"I have never been a political person. I have only voted once in my life," he said, during a rambling press conference in which he quoted everyone from Frederick Douglass to Alexis deToqueville. For the record, that specific vote was cast during the 1998 Michigan governor’s race.

If elected, Kevorkian promised to remain in office on a two year term instead of the traditional four year term.

"I’m 79, almost 80," he said. "That’s old."

Kevorkian states his reason for running is the fear of losing individual rights that are guaranteed to U.S. citizens via the Constitution.

"You can’t take my innate rights away from me without a fight," he said.

That fight for individual rights is more important than any scandal currently taking place in the city of Detroit, Kevorkian said. He reiterated that he interprets the Ninth Amendment as permitting an individual to do anything as long as it doesn’t hurt another person, even if that permission includes assisted suicide.

"If you want to have 10 pounds of marijuana in your house, why not? As long as you don’t hurt anybody," he said.