X-Message-Number: 1667 From: Graham Wilson <> Subject: CRYONICS Date: Sat, 23 Jan 93 13:25:15 WET I am now approximately 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through my cryonics legal research project. As part of the thesis I have proposed legislation, called the Cryonics Suspension Act (1993). The act provides for the creation of a Cryonics Regulatory Authority (CRA) responsible for registering and overseeing the operation of cryonics organisations. The CRA would also be responsible for protecting the rights of patients. The act will specifically make cryonics legal and provides criminal and civil remedies on the patient's behalf. When the act is completed I expect it to be some 20 - 40 pages in length. I know this is long, but it needs to be comprehensive. I will post the act when I finished drafting the contents. However, in the meantime, I still have one question which creates difficulties. Although the Cryonics Regulatory Authority (CRA) would be responsible for overseeing the industry and providing general protection for the patient, who should be responsible for acting as the patient's guardian ? In other words who would be responsible for adminstering the patient's finances ? In the poacher/gamekeeper relationship which exists between the Cryonics Company and the CRA, I would contend that it would be wrong for either of them to have control over the patient's finances. Most people would be reluctant to allow a quasai-governmental body such as the CRA to have control over their money. Similarly, it would seem unethical to provide the cryonics company with a free hand to spend the patient's money at will. I realise that the current cryonics companies provide value for money and operate safeguards. However, there is no guarantee that this would continue in the future. In this poacher/gamekeep relationship (cryonics company / Cryonics Regulatory Authority) we need a 3rd organisation responsible for controlling and allocating the patient's money. What type of organisation should be responsible for this and how should it operate ? Any suggestions ? -- ********************************************************* * Graham Wilson * * * LL.B. Law III * Coventry University * ********************************************************* Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1667