X-Message-Number: 1866
Date: 02 Mar 93 11:32:46 EST
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: CRYONICS Self-Regulation

To: Cryonet


March 2, 1993


I'm interested by Clarissa Wells' suggestion for self-
regulation. As I understand it, back in the late 1960s Saul 
Kent and/or Curtis Henderson started some kind of umbrella 
organization, bringing together all existing cryonics groups. 
I also remember that it didn't last long. Was the purpose of 
it to establish professional standards, as Ms. Wells 
suggests? What did it do, and how did it fail? 

I doubt that the Riverside coroner would have been terribly 
impressed if there had been a professional cryonics 
"standards body" in existence then. But it certainly wouldn't 
be a bad thing to have. All of the other fields that I am 
associated with already have something similar. In science 
fiction, there is the Science Fiction Writers of America, 
which proposed minimum standards for book contracts and 
staged a successful boycott of a publisher whose conduct was 
considered unsatisfactory. In film, the industry has its own 
organization to establish movie ratings (PG, and so forth). 
In computer programming, there is the Assocation of Shareware 
Professionals, which imposes some restrictions on membership 
and tries to insure professionalism in "sharable" software.

Seems to me, the International Cryonics Federation (or 
something like that) could set certain minimal standards for 
funding and patient storage (which ALL groups would currently 
be able to meet). It could also act as a public-relations 
service, disseminating information about cryonics in general. 
It might help to heal rifts between cryonics organizations by 
acting as a go-between. And, as Ms. Wells says, it would be a 
much better alternative to asking the government to regulate 
us. I realize that financial matters at Alcor are pressing 
right now, but maybe this topic could be discussed at the 
conference at the end of May. 

One other point. I have heard it suggested, so far, that 
Clarissa Wells might "really" be any of the following people:

----

Arel Lucas (Keith Henson's wife) 
Michael Darwin
Paul Wakfer
Brenda Peters
Saul Kent
Maureen Genteman
Me
Michael Paulle
Courtney Smith
JoAnne Martin (Saul Kent's wife)

----

I think this is a bit of a waste of time, especially since 
there seems to be no way the speculation can be resolved. 
Personally I find Clarissa's moral stance a bit sanctimonious 
at times, but there's obviously some truth in what she's 
said. I would like to see people deal with that, rather than 
divert attention by suggesting she isn't a "real" person. If 
someone has something interesting to say, I don't see it 
matters what they choose to call themselves. 

--Charles Platt 

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