X-Message-Number: 16356 Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 07:37:38 -0400 (EDT) From: Charles Platt <> Subject: choice The post was long and confusing because of the number of other quoted posts, but I think it was Louis Epstein who wrote: > I think those determined to secure eternal life for themselves > are the natural opposites of those determined to secure > premature death for themselves. This absolutism is very strange to me. All I want is the right to make a choice. If I can defy my biological heritage and destiny, defeat death, copy my intelligence into a computer, or use any other strategy to achieve transcendence, I claim that right. If I find that life is intolerable and I wish to end it, because I am in intolerable pain, or am suffering from locked-in syndrome, or some other condition that induces fear and misery, I claim the right to end my life. This is a very consistent attitude. It simply says that I have more authority than the state, the church, or any other entity, when it comes to my existence or nonexistence. This is the reason I became involved in cryonics, and is also the reason why I believe any compassionate system should allow (but not promote) euthanasia, just as it should allow life extension or human cryopreservation. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=16356