X-Message-Number: 2493
From: whscad1!kqb (Kevin Q Brown +1 201 386 7344)
Subject: CRYONICS Re: Living Wills

Message #2474 had a tip from The Immortalist on how to get a free copy
of the form for a Living Will appropriate for your state of residence.
(It also explained why Living Wills are useful for suspension members.)
Today I found a month-old comp.risks message on a patent for a "central
depository for living wills."  As is usual for many comp.risks postings,
I assume that the reader of this message is supposed to infer that
"the risks are obvious."  For cryonicists, though, the risks are somewhat
different than for most people.

                              Kevin Q. Brown
                              INTERNET    
                                 or       
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RISKS-LIST: RISKS-FORUM Digest  Weds 17 November 1993  Volume 15 : Issue 28

         FORUM ON RISKS TO THE PUBLIC IN COMPUTERS AND RELATED SYSTEMS 
   ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy, Peter G. Neumann, moderator

> Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1993 10:20:26 +0500
> From:  (Brian Hawthorne - SunSelect)
> Subject: Living Will Database

A recent item on the New York Times newswire described a patent granted to
Victor Alan Perry (date: 11-14-93 1811EST/category: Financial/ subject: BC
PATENTS/title: PATENTS: FAT SUBSTITUTE COULD BURN UP; LIVING WILL
DATABASE/author: TERESA RIORDAN).

Apparently, Mr. Perry, et alia, have been granted US patent 5,241,466 for a
"system for administering a central depository for living wills".  He
envisions an '800' number that doctors and hospitals can call.  The system
will then fax back a copy of the appropriate document (living will, durable
power of attorney, etc.) for the patient.  He would also like to extend the
system to be modem-accessible.

The purpose of the system is to save some of $10,000,000,000 which is claimed
to be spent "for artificial life support of people who did not wish to be kept
alive".

   [That would make an interesting target for computer break-ins!  PGN]
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