THE FIGHT AGAINST ENTROPY BEGINS! ROUND 1

Hal Dunn (johngalt@digital.net)
Sat, 30 Nov 1996 21:57:13 -0500


>From: Chris Hind <chind@juno.com>
>Date: Fri, 29 Nov 1996 18:44:50 -0800
>>There's an interesting thread going on in
>>>Newsgroups: sci.physics,sci.cryonics
>>>Subject: Re: Cryonics bafflegab?
>>Cryonics technicians are committing a crime and should be jailed.
>>
>>There are only 2 possible cases:
>> Case 1: Cryonics technicians take a dead human body and freeze it.
>> Case 2: Cryonics technicians take a living human and freeze her.
>>
>>In case 1, since it is physically impossible to return the dead back to
>>life, Cryonics technicians are perpetuating a fraud.
>>
>>In case 2, since even the cryonics technicians themselves admit that the
>>future thawing process is unlikely to have 100 percent survivial rate,
>>Cryonics technicians are committing premeditated murder.
>>
>>In either case, cryonics technicians are committing a crime and should be
>>jailed.

I would say to the anti-cryonics crowd:

In case 1: It's not fraud if the cryo-patient (while alive) voluntarily
agreed to let the cryo-technicians perform the procedure. And the
uncertainties were throughly explained to the cryo-patient. The whole point
is that in the future it might not be physically impossible to return the
dead back to life.

In case 2: It's not premeditated murder if the living human voluntarily
agreed to let the cryo-technicians perform the procedure. Legally this is a
tough one, e.g, Kervorkian keeps going to court.

It's not fraud:
>>since even the cryonics technicians themselves admit
to the potential patient
>>that the future thawing process is unlikely to have 100 percent survivial
rate . . .
And the patient understands this and agrees to participate.

Sounds like this anti-cryonics person has a problem with voluntary human
agreements and a predilection for JAIL(!) Book 'em, Danno!

Hal Dunn
hal@intersonic.com