Jack Kevorkian

“She made the decision that her existence had lost its meaning. And you cannot judge that.”

“This (...) had made me aware for the first time of the well-disguised myth that they and the academic institutions they represent are bastions of a free exchange of ideas. They are -but only...”

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

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

“The Jews were gassed. Armenians were killed in every conceivable way... So the Holocaust doesn't interest me, see? They've had a lot of publicity, but they didn't suffer as much.”

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

“I'm for absolute autonomy of the individual, and an adult, competent woman has absolute autonomy. It's her choice.”

“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.”

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

“Let's hope you feel better now.”

“My intent was to carry out my duty as a doctor, to end their suffering. Unfortunately, that entailed, in their cases, ending of the life.”

“You can cite me for contempt, Your Honor. I don't care.”

“I want some colleague to be free to come help me when I say the time has come. That's what I'm fighting for, me. Now that sounds selfish. And if it helps somebody else, so be it.”

“It's the boredom that kills you. You read until you're tired of that. You do crossword puzzles until you're tired of that. This is torture. This is mental torture.”

“I'd find it demeaning to be cleaning toilets.”

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

“If a man is terrified, it's up to me to dispel that terror.”

“Yes, we need euthanasia, for certain cases where people are in comas or too immobile to even press a button.”

“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 th...”

“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.”