g equal rights for women. His actions, however, would demonstrate that he did not in fact believe in the laws he mandated. His deeds (lechery) would be immoral and would therefore invalidate his laws. It would be a demonstration of the adage Do as I say, not as I do. The next question we wrestled with concerned Dr. Death. Dr. Jack Kevorkian has assisted in the death of at least 30 people. He is a convicted felon for murder in the second degree. He will spend the rest of his life in jail. Are his actions ethical? Are they moral? Not surprisingly, the jury of my peers is hung. Some feel he is both, while others feel he is neither. I feel he is moral and unethical. His personal morals dictate that human life is precious. I am led to understand that he holds life in such high regard that he is willing to end it with the patients consent when the quality of that life declines sufficiently. He holds that quality is more important than quantity. Ethically, however, he has strayed. He took an oath when he became a doctor. With that oath, he swore to do no harm. Dr. Kevorkian failed to uphold his oath. He is therefore unethical in his recent medical dealings. This is not to say that I think what he did is wrong. I feel that there should be some latitude available to the individual in this matter. If I take the decision, as has his patients, to end my life, I should be able to do so. I believe that Dr. Kevorkians actions will result in changes to our legal system as it applies to this matter. I hope they are for the better. I think that his actions, while unethical, were necessary. I hope that others follow where he has led. I also hope that our medical ethics evolve for the better around this issue.The last question we discussed concerned animals. The vegetarian in the group felt that it would be immoral to eat animal. She also felt it was unethical. Everyone else felt that it was perfectly acceptable to eat animals. That is to say, it is perfe...
