X-Message-Number: 10103
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 16:29:24 +0100
From:  (John de Rivaz)
Subject: RE: Sequel To "THE FIRST IMMORTAL"?

In article: <> "Halperin, Jim" 
<> writes:
> 	At book signings, I've been asking members of my audience
> whether they would accept a free pill that would make them eternally
> youthful and allow them to live forever if they so chose. Only about 50%
> say yes. I also ask how many would, assuming equal cost, prefer to be
> buried, cremated or frozen. 70% choose being frozen! This seems a
> paradox, but probably has something to do with the way our brains are
> wired to analyze choices. Unfortunately, no cryonics organization has
> scientifically tested enough alternatives to make the sign-up process
> more automatic and friction-free.

Fascinating results.

Unfortunately it is not up to cryonics organisatiuons how easy or difficult 
signing up is.

Instead, it is up to the legal profession. They, with their colleagues in 
the legislature (politicians and civil servants) have enacted laws which 
make it difficult to arrange cryopreservation.

If the legal profession as a whole thought cryopreservation a good idea, and 
their colleagues in the legislature enacted laws which said that it is every 
individual's right to chose cryopreservation and cryopreservation has 
precedence over everything else, then fine.. Cryonics organisations could 
have very simple sign up procedures.

It could happen I suppose - it is not legal to terminate a surgical 
prcedure, resulting in the death of the patient, for any reason that I know 
of. Even if the patient was a convicted murderer having escaped from death 
row, it would not be legal for the police to drag him from the operating 
table - in fact they would have to wait until he was decared fit before they 
could take him back to prison, even if he was almost certain to be cooked to 
death on the electric chair for his crime later.

-- 
Sincerely,     * Longevity Report:  http://www.longevb.demon.co.uk/lr.htm
John de Rivaz  * Fractal Report:    http://www.longevb.demon.co.uk/fr.htm
**************** Homepage:http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JohndeR
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