Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who became famous (or infamous, depending on your view) for his controversial advocacy of assisted suicide, has died.
He was 83. Kevorkian, who was battling kidney and heart ailments, died early Friday, according to his local paper, the Detroit Free Press.
He was not placed on life support, his attorney, Mayer Morganroth said.
At Kevorkian’s side in Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., at the time of his own death was his niece, Ava Janus, and attorney Morganroth.
In all, the trained pathologist assisted some 130 terminally or chronically ill patients in their deaths during the 1990s, resulting in myriad legal problems. Debates over the ethics of his actions continue to this day.
In 1999, he was convicted of second-degree murder after sending a videotape of himself euthanizing a terminally ill man to CBS’s 60 Minutes.
His medical license was also revoked.
Last year, Al Pacino won an Emmy for his portrayal of Kevorkian in HBO’s You Don’t Know Jack. Our sympathies go out to those close to him.