ASSISTED SUICIDE CRUSADER JACK KEVORKIAN MAKES CONGRESSIONAL BID OFFICIAL
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com
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March 24 2008
MT
Detroit, MI (LifeNews.com) — Convicted murderer and assisted
suicide crusader Jack Kevorkian made his candidacy for a Detroit-area
Congressional seat official on Monday. Kevorkian says his main agenda
as a member of the august body would be promoting the Ninth Amendment
as allowing a right to assisted suicide.
State law required Kevorkian to gather 3,000 signatures to qualify
for the ballot and he turned in papers with those signatures to local
election officials.
Kevorkian didn’t say much else about assisted suicide during the
formal press announcement but accused the current government of
being tyrannical.
"You’ve been trained to obey it, not fight for it because the tyrant
doesn’t like that," Kevorkian said, according to an AP report.
"I have no ties, no fetters. I am free," the former pathologist added,
saying he is beholden to no so-called special interests.
He will run as an independent and will challenge pro-life Rep. Joe
Knollenberg, a Republican who strongly opposes both abortion and
euthanasia. Gary Peters, a former state senator and a Democrat,
will also be seeking Michigan’s 9th Congressional district seat in
the November election.
Kevorkian has admitted to killing more than 130 people, including the
televised death of Thomas Youk netted him a 25-year prison sentence.
Earlier this month, when he announced he was considering the race,
Kevorkian said, "We need some honesty and sincerity instead of corrupt
government in Washington."
"I plan to" run as an independent, he said. "I wouldn’t do this
otherwise."
Oakland County Prosecutor Dave Gorcyca, the prosecutor who sent
Kevorkian to prison, told the Oakland Press he thinks the campaign is a
"publicity stunt."
"It’s probably more of a publicity stunt. To call attention to himself
is standard protocol for Jack when he doesn’t have the limelight
focused on him. I would not consider his candidacy to be a legitimate
one," he said.
Democrats have targeted Knollenberg and Kevorkian’s candidacy may
have the effect of peeling some Democratic votes away from the party’s
eventual nominee.
During his race, Kevorkian will have to watch what he says because the
terms of his parole, after serving just seven years of the sentence,
prohibit him from advising people how to kill themselves.
His parole officer will be monitoring the content of his speeches.
Michigan law doesn’t prevent ex-convicts from running for office or
from voting as is the case in some other states. However, Kevorkian
is still on parole until June 2009.