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Abstract
Informed by the theories of social construction of reality and social movement, this study examined how medical journals, the publications of social movement organizations, and newspapers portrayed Jack Kevorkian in the physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and euthanasia debate. The views of core general medical journals from the United Kingdom and the United States, newsletters of pro- and anti-PAS/euthanasia groups, and local and national American newspaper coverage of Kevorkian were explored. Overall, the findings show that the voices of these different communities converged in some areas of their coverage of Kevorkian. The British medical journals (the British Medical Journal and The Lancet) and a pro-PAS/euthanasia group (the Hemlock Society) shared themes mainly with the New York Times, whereas the American journals (the Journal of the American Medical Association and New England Journal of Medicine) and an anti-PAS/euthanasia group (the International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force) shared themes mainly with the Detroit News.