Michigan ? The state parole board rejected a request to pardon assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian or commute his sentence, despite warnings that he is in grave condition.

The 77-year-old former doctor is serving a 10- to 25-year prison sentence for murder for giving a fatal injection of drugs in 1998 to a man with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Kevorkian is not eligible for parole until 2007.

His lawyer, Mayer Morganroth, warned last month that Kevorkian was in “dire shape” and might not live that long. Kevorkian suffers from high blood pressure, arthritis, cataracts, osteoporosis and Hepatitis C, the lawyer said.

But the parole board, in a 7-2 vote, recommended the governor deny the application, according to documents released Thursday.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm will follow the recommendation, spokeswoman Liz Boyd said.