2010: Kevorkian admits helping dozens die – Transcript

00:00Anderson Cooper AC 360 CNN weeknights 10 Eastern How many people in total did you help die? It's around 130 around a little more than 130 right. You're not sure of the exact number Well, I was helped by a colleague a psychiatrist who joined me or near the end the only doctor who offered to join me In fact, the only doctor who would do any who would all cooperate with me and the first time you did it

00:26Who's who's the first Janet Atkins was the first and that was in a van in a van. Why in a van? I couldn't find a place. I tried mercy nursing homes churches You didn't do it at your your apartment No, because the police would would raid the apartment clean it out And I didn't want to involve anybody else in it like the like the landlord. I mean What is that like to end somebody's life in a van?

00:54Well, well, you're ending you're not ending the life. I didn't do it to end the life I did it to end the suffering the patients going through the patients obviously suffering What's the doctor supposed to do turn his back if he is if he's a coward is but a lot of doctors do that Well, they're cowards doctors are cowards, you know that they won't take anything that's going to hurt their income or their reputation

01:18Anything that's possible any legal thing that's going to possibly be damaging. I mean, do you have a nightmare is about it? Did you ever feel no I don't think a doctor said have a nightmare about any medical procedure or else. He's not a doctor. Did you find it sad? Well, of course, you don't like to end the life Look if a doctor if somebody's got a cancer of the bone of a hip

01:42You don't take the leg off at the joint in the hip joint because you want to do it I says I'm going to take that leg off. I can't wait to take that leg off No The leg has to come off to help save the patient's life Unfortunately, it entails the loss of a leg But a lot of people as you know, I mean say look you're playing God that that isn't the doctor who takes a leg off playing God

02:09You're saying doctors play God all the time. Of course any time you interfere with a natural process. You're playing God God determines what happens naturally That means that when a person's ill he shouldn't go to a doctor because he's asking for interference with God's will but of course Patients can't think that way. They want to live as long as possible and not suffer So they call a doctor to help them end the suffering. Are you a religious man? No

02:40Do you believe in God? I don't know. Is there a God? We look I'm a scientist a doctor is always a scientist. Do you fear death? As much as anybody else I fear it only because I like living so much because I feel good If you were if you were ill if you had a terminal illness and were in pain Would you take your own life if it was unending pain and there's no cure? Of course. I'm doing this for me See, it's my natural right. That's in the Constitution in the 9th Amendment, which is ignored

03:09I have a natural right to do whatever I want with my body Anything as long as it doesn't affect anybody else or any other property and And and I have give permission myself permission to do it That's true of anything. I had to help a patient only with his permission To do what I think is necessary and it's all laid out in detail to the patient Do you think you've had an impact? Do you think I don't know successful?

03:36I think this film may have an impact because it's very emotional and very powerful But what cut it helps the issue and that's what counts whether it helps me or not It's irrelevant and I like that because it helps the issue You use different ways of ending people's lives. Yes at first. What did you use?

03:55I had to devise a way to do it. The patient was quadriplegic Who wanted a doctor to come and help him die? I says look I could help you but It's illegal So I've got to find a way to do it legally And I'll get back in touch with you and not in the meantime. I was working on a way to do it I just you basically just came up with an idea in your mind to make a machine that would save me from having to do it

04:23So I got that would allow the person to actually that's right I would set up the machines all the solutions and everything and the Intervenous line and then the patient would hit a switch and Start everything flowing later on you started using a gas Yeah, because they stopped they took away my license for the controlled substance So you couldn't get access to so they made it harder for me and harder for the patient But that didn't bother them. See I didn't they don't care about the patient suffering

04:51See so you actually so what you put you would put something over their head and and give them again We we first put tried one case with a with a Thing with I devised up over the head of a plastic that's you could see through transparent But the patient panicked and and said stop it stop it So I stopped it we stopped it and I says why don't we try this another day? He said no do it now He was determined to end it. He had severe emphysema and

05:21And and that helps you panic when you breathe that you have trouble breathing when you're breathing carbon monoxide gas When you have get when you have carbon monoxide poisoning at night when you're asleep. It doesn't wake you up You die in other words. It's not so disturbing that it would wake you up Therefore it can't be too disturbing when you take it away in the final patient. Tell me out. Yeah That case was different. You you actually injected him. That's right. That's right

05:49You actually injected him because you wanted to go to court. I wanted to bring the case to so that I get standing They can't say they didn't get the particularized case They wanted and you thought it would go to the Supreme Court and that the basically this would change the law Yeah, I hope this go to get I doubt it though because I knew the courts corrupt I want to just show a little video that you made sure prior to to the injection and we're ready to inject We're gonna inject in your right arm

06:15Okay, do you sleep? When you see that what do you think that?

06:36The law has forced me to do this in the most undignified way You think it's undignified. Of course it is. There's no family there. There. We're alone two of us I can't risk it anybody else's life You had told his family that he shouldn't they should not be there because they're proud of prosecute you as an accomplice or something You don't know because they're cruel the law is cruel They don't care about the patient they care about the letter of the law

07:04Bond is set for $50,000 you're gonna pay that today. Oh, that is beyond egregious. There is no way I'm going to pay a bond like that your honor. You can forget it You can forget it because this is the last time new people Unjustly take away from me my liberty. I need them a lot of time your honor and I will not hear me now I will not eat Guarantee I apologize for my client. You are assisting my suicide Jack Jack Jack just come on

07:31You're off parole now, right? Oh, yeah, I have only two years after I got out of prison. I'm so you're a free man Yeah, would you do it again? Would you help somebody under under certain circumstances? Yes as long as I know and they're not going to throw me in jail again And and and uh and prison me. Yeah, I would do it again Have you had people approach you for for help to end their life? They approached me even I got letters from me when I was in prison They wanted help they wanted advice how to do it. I couldn't do that in prison

07:58Can you can you give advice to people now not in parole it stopped it with parole ending? I could give any advice I want so now you could give advice absolutely I can notice I'm talking very freely about it and are you in touch with people who want to and not right now No, no, they all assume like that should like the judge says You have now been stopped Well, she was wrong. I haven't You haven't been stopped. No, of course not. I still push for this issue

08:26And when a chance comes I'll do it the way it should be done What do you mean you you will help someone else in their life? Yeah, because you haven't in three states so-called Oregon, washington. It's not done right. That's not a medical service. A doctor can't be involved illegal You'll be punished AMA says you'll lose your license Scares the hell out of them. So will you build another machine? I don't need a machine

08:53A doctor can do the injecting the machine was just to avoid Being charged with the do having committed the crime, but you don't have access to The pharmaceuticals anymore. Do you not yet? But if it were illegal, in other words, if the law stepped out of the picture If religion stopped pushing this opposition Then we could do it like a regular medical procedure, which it should be