New at Reason: Jacob Sullum on Do-It-Yourself Suicide

June 8, 2011

Jack Kevorkian, who proudly eschewed payment for his services, dispensed death to people who convinced him they had good reasons for wanting to die. By contrast, the suicide kits that Sharlotte Hydorn sold from her home in El Cajon, California, were available to anyone with $60 and a mailing address. Senior Editor Jacob Sullum says it's too bad the government, to the extent that it recognizes a right to suicide, takes its cues from Kevorkian, who died last Friday, rather than Hydorn, whose business was shut down by the FBI the week before.

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