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Kevorkian Plan to Speak in Florida May be Too Soon for Parole Board

By Peter J. Smith

LANSING, Michigan, August 3, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Dr. Jack Kevorkian may have plans to speak at the University of Florida about his life's work of "mercy killing", but the Michigan Parole Board has not yet agreed to the euthanasia movement's poster-boy's request to leave the state.

Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections told LifeSiteNews.com that the Parole Board has not yet approved Kevorkian's request to leave Michigan and first "wanted to give time and see how he does."

"He can't leave the state without written permission and the request is still pending," Marlan said.  "[The Parole Board] didn't say when exactly they would let him go, but they told him to take [the engagement] under the advisement that the approval is pending."

Marlin added that Kevorkian is allowed to lobby for assisted suicide, but violates his parole if he gives specific details about assisted suicide, such as how he killed people, how to carry-out assisted suicide, and how to construct the machine he used.

"The analogy that his officer used was that he could advocate nuclear war, but he couldn't tell people how to make a bomb," Marlin said.

However the Michigan-based Flint Right to Life has urged pro-lifers to generate thousands of calls and spread the word that UF is allowing Kevorkian, a convicted murderer, to join its speaker's roster for the handsome sum of $50,000.

Judy Climer, president of Flint Right to Life, spoke with LifeSiteNews.com saying that what began as a local campaign in her area has gained broader attention across the nation. Climer has urged pro-life advocates to contact the University of Florida president James Bernard "Bernie" Machen to protest Kevorkian's appearance and express concerns that UF state and federal funds may be paying for "Dr. Death's" talk.

Mid-July, LifeSiteNews.com reported that ACCENT, the UF student government speaker's bureau, had invited Kevorkian to speak to students on October 11. (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07071703.html)

LifeSiteNews.com contacted the ACCENT Speech Bureau today and learned that Kevorkian has just signed the contract. While Kevorkian's topic has not been finalized, LifeSiteNews.com was told that Kevorkian is expected to speak at length about the topic of assisted suicide, including his past ten years and time in prison.

In July ACCENT chairman Steven Blank told LifeSiteNews.com that ACCENT is "non-partisan" and chose Kevorkian to add positive "diversity" to the roster of speakers. When pressed about whether ACCENT would give a racist the same speaking opportunity as a convicted murderer like Kevorkian for the sake of "diversity", Blank demurred, saying, "Each speaker is taken on a case by case basis."

"Why on earth would they put a convicted murderer, a felon, in front of the student body?" Climer protested. "I'm a former board of education member myself. I served 15 years and I would never approve my students bringing in a convicted murder to my student body."

Climer said she was told by UF officials that they couldn't find anyone else to debate Kevorkian, but Climer finds that assertion unsupportable. Climer said she could easily find a speaker happy to debate Kevorkian, either through her own contacts or by working with Bobby Schindler of the Terri Schiavo-Schindler Foundation.

Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri Schindler-Schiavo - the brain injured woman who perished in March 2005 after a court order removed her feeding tube at the behest of her husband - is circulating a "Say No to Dr. Death" petition for UF administrators.

Kevorkian's plans for travel and future speaking engagements seem to point to a surprising health recovery. Kevorkian's lawyer had told the Michigan Parole Board in December that he expected Kevorkian had less than a year to live. Kevorkian was paroled after serving 8 years of a 10 to 25 year sentence for the second degree murder of Thomas Youk. Youk's assisted suicide was broadcast on "60 Minutes", which led to Kevorkian's arrest and the end to a "mercy-killing" career that left 130 dead.

To sign the Schiavo Foundation's petition "Say No to Dr. Death":
 http://tool.donation-net.net/entrance/enter.cfm?dn=1068&source=2000&id=1...

To contact the University of Florida:

J. Bernard Machen
President of University of Florida
Telephone: 352-392-1311
E-mail:

ACCENT Speech Bureau
300-1 JWRU, Room 306
P.O. Box 118505
Gainesville, FL 32611-8505
Tel: 352-392-1665 ext. 306
Fax: 352-392-8072
Website: http://www.sg.ufl.edu/accent
Email:
Press/Upcoming Show Information: 352-392-1665 ext. 411

Related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

Doctor "Death" Kevorkian to Speak at Florida University for $50,000 Speaking Fee
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07071703.html

Kevorkian Vows to Push for Assisted Suicide Laws After Upcoming Prison Release
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/may/07052301.html

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