Self-styled suicide doctor Jack Kevorkian says it isn't easy watching someone die, but it's something all doctors must do.
Kevorkian told Newsweek magazine that tears came to his eyes several times as he helped someone commit suicide. The interview appears in the magazine's March 8 edition, which goes on sale Monday.Kevorkian has helped 15 people die in Michigan since June 1990. His work led state lawmakers to enact a ban on assisted suicides, first set to take effect March 30.
But on Thursday, after lawmakers moved up the effective date, Gov. John Engler signed a bill immediately outlawing assisted suicide. Violators can be sentenced to up to four years' imprisonment and a $2,000 fine.
Asked how he feels while helping someone die, Kevorkian said, "It's tough on me. You've got to steel yourself. Every doctor does. If a doctor didn't do that, he couldn't function.
"Several times, tears have come to my eyes. These are not happy moments. The ending of a human life can never be a good moment."
Kevorkian also said none of the people he has helped showed a fear of death.
"I've had all kinds of religions," he added, "and not one wanted a religious consultation. Religion is totally irrelevant to what they want."
Also last week, Macomb County Carl Marlinga said he was considering filing homicide charges against Kevorkian after receiving a document indicating that a 70-year-old man that Kevorkian helped die may have changed his mind.
The American Civil Liberties Union has said it will file a lawsuit Monday seeking to strike down the new law.
Kevorkian repeatedly has vowed to defy the ban. He repeated the pledge to Newsweek.
"I will help a suffering human being at the right time when the patient's condition warrants it, despite anything else," he said during the interview.