CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

AY: 2022-2023

NAME: KATELINNE A. DABUCOL SECTION: BSN 2-A

COURSE: HEALTH CARE ETHICS DATE: 02/04/23

ACTIVITY: EUTHANASIA

Title of the Movie: “You Don’t Know Jack”

Synopsis:
"You Don't Know Jack" is a 2010 movie starring Al Pacino as Jack Kevorkian, better known
as "Doctor Death". The film focuses on the life and work of physician-assisted suicide advocate
Jack Kevorkian, who advocated the idea of doctor-assisted suicide. His aim was to help hopeless
patients who are terminally ill or suffering from debilitating pain to commit suicide effortlessly. Dr.
Jack Kevorkian tackled one of the most controversial issues in the 1990s, if not still to this day,
regarding euthanasia and the rights of a terminally ill person must end their life with assisted
suicide. Kevorkian evolved his "service" by helping more than 130 patients end their lives.
His first patient is Janet Adkins, a 53 -year-old woman from Portland, Oregon who is
suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The disease is in its early stages, but Adkins is increasingly
suffering from memory loss and confusion. With Kevorkian's help, she dies on June 4, 1990. Soon
after Kevorkian begins aiding people in earnest. As Kevorkian's notoriety increases, he provokes
polarizing public opinion. His supporters believe he is performing a public service and that the
government has no right to interfere with the decisions of competent individuals who want to die.
He insists that he gives his patients a means to end their suffering; they alone made the decision
and initiated the process. His critics, however, believe he is playing God.
However, Thomas Youk's September 16, 1998, death is different. Youk, reputed to be
Jack Kevorkian's final patient, is so crippled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that he cannot
self-administer the drugs. Kevorkian administers it personally. A video of Youk's death is
presented as part of Kevorkian's interview with reporter Mike Wallace of
the CBS news program 60 Minutes. It leads to his being indicted. Despite the intervention of
Youk's widow Melody and his brother Terry, he is convicted of second-degree murder. Kevorkian
represents himself while in previous cases, he was represented by attorney Geoffrey Fieger. He
is sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison. He wants his case to be heard by the United States
Supreme Court so that the issue of assisted suicide can be decided. The Court declined to do so,
however. Kevorkian is released in June 2007 after serving over eight years.
What is its stand on euthanasia?
Dr. Jack Kevorkian is a very controversial doctor because he believed that terminally ill or
severely disabled people who don't want to suffer anymore should be able to get help to end their
lives. Kevorkian has always made it clear that he wants people to be able to decide when they
are ready to die. Here, we can see how each suicide was carefully planned out, with a recorded
consultation, signing consent forms, and then the patient's death. It shows what each person and
his or her family went through. Moreover, the film skims over the bigger questions — for example,
who gets to decide when someone deserves their own self-determination? At one point, two
patients are told they’re simply not close enough to death to qualify, and the script never explores
what Kevorkian thinks about the practical considerations of self-euthanasia.

Are you in favor or not in favor of euthanasia?

Self-determination is our basic right; hence, we all have our moral right to determine what
is good for ourselves and I believe that euthanasia is one of those. I think it's a good idea, if the
patient is dying or has a disease that can't be cured and makes the decision on his or her own.
We all know that there are many things to think about when it comes to this topic. One of those
things is whether or not the patient is able to continue living because of a painful illness. When
there is a clear way to end the pain, keeping it going when there is a clear way to stop it could be
seen as cruel to us-healthcare provider. Euthanasia is in the best interest not only of the person
who is dying, but also of his family and the people who are taking care of him. The patient's human
dignity is respected by giving him one last chance to make a free choice about a dignified option
at the end of his life. He will then be freed from the pain that has been getting worse. It gives the
relatives a sense of freedom from the huge and seemingly impossible burden they have been
carrying. It also frees them from emotional stress and financial problems. When a person chooses
euthanasia, it also frees the medical staff from responsibilities that seem to be a burden and don't
help a person who isn't expected to get better. However, we all have different opinions on this
issue, though, because it goes against the Natural Law and rejects God's control and loving plan
for a person's life in the end.