X-Message-Number: 22368
From: 
Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 19:44:12 EDT
Subject: Dignitas

A few weeks ago 60 Minutes discussed a Swiss right-to-die organization called 
Dignitas.  Swiss law forbids assisting suicide for the assister's gain, but 
is otherwise silent on the subject.  Dignitas is free and gains nothing, so 
their work is not bothered by the law.

It makes no difference *why* one wants to die -- even simple depression is 
enough reason.  They counsel their patients, then give them the drugs.

Now consider the cryonics patient whose body is rapidly decaying or, worse, 

whose mind is being destroyed by Alzheimer's years before his heart will stop.
To have any chance at long term survival he should choose death and freezing 
before irremediable damage occurs.  Apparently in Switzerland one could do 

just this -- say his good-byes and choose a day to deanimate.  His chances would
be much better than if he simply died as many organs failed, then was 

pronounced dead some time later and only then started cooling.  He could be 
treated 
like an open-heart-surgery patient -- cooled to as low temperature as possible 
while his heart still beat, given an anesthetic, then cooled until his heart 
stopped.  Immediately declared dead, his blood could be drained and cooling 

started in earnest, all the while knowing that as with cold-water-drowning, 
there 
would be 45 minutes or more before brain damage would occur.  This is the way 
one would probably treat an experimental animal today, and would give the 

maximum chance at revival and restoration of brain functions and memory.  And it
looks like it would be legal in Switzerland.

I emailed Dignitas, but they say they are too busy to answer questions.

I urge that we check with Swiss lawyers.  It seems to me this is the best 

place to begin a cryonic journey.  We should research the possibility.  Here one
can opt out of the final few weeks of misery as heart failure or cancer 

destroys his organs until just a shell is left and he dies, leaving revivors of 
the 
future with a ruined system that is hard to fix.  Or opt out years of the 
living death that is advanced Alzheimer's, which destroys so much of the brain 
that future restoration is doubtful.  Here one could have a chance!

Alan Mole

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