‘Rational’ Suicide Ruling Clouds Kevorkian Case : Law: Detroit judge says some people have a right to kill themselves and a ban on aiding deaths is too broad. Jailed doctor is in 15th day of hunger strike.

A Detroit judge ruled Monday that there is a constitutional right of “rational” suicide, adding to the confusion surrounding three charges of violating Michigan’s assisted-suicide law faced by the jailed Jack Kevorkian, now in his 15th day of a hunger strike.

Monday’s 41-page ruling by Wayne County Circuit Judge Richard C. Kaufman raises the possibility that at least one charge against Kevorkian of illegally assisting a suicide may be dismissed.

Kaufman declared that a person whose “quality of life is significantly impaired by a medical condition” has the right under the 14th Amendment to kill himself if his health is unlikely to improve and his decision is made freely. Therefore, Kaufman wrote, Michigan’s blanket ban on assisting suicides is too broad.

But Kaufman added that Kevorkian must show that these constitutional conditions apply to his case before a charge of illegally assisting suicide can be dismissed. A hearing into the matter is scheduled for today.

Now two judges have found parts--different parts--of Michigan’s law unconstitutional while two lower-court judges have upheld it. An appellate court is considering the statute.

The latest ruling “confuses the issue even more,” said Richard Thompson, prosecuting attorney in Oakland County, north of Detroit. “The Court of Appeals has to act, but I’m sure it will go to the Michigan Supreme Court and be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“It’s not going to be decided anytime soon.”

Prosecutors in both Wayne and Oakland counties contend that Kaufman’s decision holds only in his courtroom, where he is hearing the accusation that Kevorkian illegally helped 73-year-old Donald O’Keefe end his life to escape the pain of bone cancer.

“There are 62 judges in Wayne County,” said Richard Padzieski, chief of operations for the Wayne County prosecutor’s office. “I could have 61 decisions and still take the case to another court.”

Kevorkian’s attorney, Geoffrey N. Fieger, has asked an Oakland County judge to dismiss another charge against his client based on Kaufman’s opinion. Royal Oak District Judge Daniel Sawicki will hear Fieger’s argument today.

Fieger, however, said he does not expect Sawicki to throw out the case. “He’s out to kill Kevorkian,” the lawyer said.

Sawicki is hearing the charge that Kevorkian helped Merian Frederick, a 72-year-old with Lou Gehrig’s disease, kill herself. Kevorkian’s refusal to post a $50,000 bond in the Frederick case led to his imprisonment in the Oakland County Jail two weeks ago.

Kevorkian, 65, has refused solid food, accepting only juices, vitamins and water. He was hospitalized for one day after experiencing an irregular heartbeat but received no extra nutrients. He was returned to the jail Monday night.

Cardiologist Abdul Hasan, who examined the retired pathologist twice Monday, said Kevorkian did not have a heart attack and “looks remarkably well. I’ll say he is weak but not bad.”

Kevorkian has attended 20 deaths of seriously ill people since 1990, drawing loud praise from some quarters and denunciation from others.

Since the state ban was passed specifically to halt Kevorkian’s activities, he has also been charged with violations in the Wayne County death of Thomas Hyde, a 30-year-old with Lou Gehrig’s disease.