X-Message-Number: 25950 From: "Trygve B.Bauge" <> Subject: Suggested legislature: Protecting the terminally ill, people in a persistant vegetative state and cryonic patients etc. against their own spouses, relatives and the courts. (Version 5) Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 23:05:34 +0200 Please find attached a suggested wording for new legislature to better handle future cases like Terri Schindler-Schiavo's. Please pass this on to your senator and representative in the U.S. Congress. Sincerely Trygve Bauge I challenge the U.S. federal government and the state legislature in Florida and governments everywhere, to pass the following general law: (in time to apply to Terri Schiavo's dead body too, but at least in time to rescue others from receiving her fate.) RIGHTS OF THE TERMINALLY ILL etc. In cases of life support for the terminally ill, individuals in a persistent vegetative state, and others persistently unable to survive on their own and in cases of treatment of those already dead, and in the absence of a written and properly publicly recorded power of attorney, living will or will to the contrary, the decission shall not rest with the spouse or nearest next of kin or in the abscence of a known relative the local government,- but with that private or public entity that is willing and able to offer the best life support. With the local (state or federal) judiciary deciding what entity this is, based on the following criteria: 1. Anything best keeping the patient alive shall be given priority to anything else. 2. Any attempt at cloning live cell samples of the individual shall be given priority to anything that might kill the patient. 3. Anything best maintaining a dead person in a state of suspended animation shall be given priority to any other treatment of the dead. 4. Any attempt at taking and cloning (dead) cells samples of the deceased shall be given priority to any other treatment of the dead as long as it doesn't jeopardise the latter's suspended animation. 5. Mumification, embalming, packing in a zealed way and storing in a cold environment shall be given priority to burial and cremation. 6. Burial shell be given priority to cremation. 7. Cremation shall only be used as the means of last resort. In cases where more entities are willing and able to provide the same treatment with the highest above mentioned priority, such entity nearest to the individual in question (e.g. the spouse and then the nearest kin, private entities before governmental, local private entities before more distant, and local government before state and federal,-) shall be given preference. In cases where a spouse, a next of kin or another legal guardian in the abscence of a living will explicitly requesting such specific assisted death,- still wants to cut off a specific life support system, or prevent or cut off suspended animation, this shall constitute a valid reason for divorce, and termination of guardianship,- and in the presence of others willing and able to offer a better treatment according to the above standards, the local (state or federal) court shall promptly appoint a new pro life legal guardian to protect the interests of the terminally ill or deceased individual in accordance with the above priorities, and with the power to file for and procure a prompt divorce on this individual's behalf, and to otherwise protect its interests. If a legal guardian can't afford to maintain the best life support systems, and another entity is willing and able to provide such, then the first guardian shall lose his guardianship to the latter entity. Providing food and drink orally, by tube or intravenously, shall not be regarded as exceptional medical treatment,- and not be covered by provisions against providing medical treatment, unless explicitly statet in a written properly recorded living will. To be properly recorded a living will shall be written,- initiated and signed voluntarily by the patient while of sound mind, and not under duress,- while witnessed and cosigned by two impartial and indifferent adults of sound mind not related to the patient or one another, not advocating living wills, and not standing to inherit anything, receive insurance payoffs or otherwise benefit monetarily from so doing,- and then promptly publicly recorded at and publisized locally (statewide or federally) by a public office of clerk and recorder,- and not later annulled by a similar process. All statet death wishes not so publicly recorded shall be diregarded as not adequately substantiated. Assisted death shall only be for those that in the above described way have gone to great length to publicly demand this while still alive and mentally healthy. All death wishes merely past on orally shall be regarded as at the best unsubstantiated or hearsay and at the worst disguised attempts at murder. If one has not taken the proper steps to record a living will, but merely has spoken about one's preferences, one has not met the minimum requirements or showed enough diligence or commitment to the task of speeding up one's own death, and shall not be regarded as having committed oneself to this. This law shall apply to all people presently alive or dead within this juridiction, and be meant to protect the life of each and all of us against anyone who too eagerly want to impose death upon another human being. Starving or dehydrating a patient to death in the abscence of a written and properly recorded living will calling for such starvation, and in the presence of others willing and able to pay for a better treatment,- or otherwise violating this law, shall be a felony carrying a minimum sentence of 10 years in jail. Sincerely, Trygve Bauge Ps. Too bad you died Terri. Let us hope the legislature will have the guts to secure your cloning, suspended animation and future restoration to health, before your husband manages to cremate you. If the legislature had written a general law rather than a specific law for you, it would have stood up in the supreme court, and you would still have been alive. If we had been able to secure you a divorce in time, I would have proposed to you. Now all I can do, is to work for better laws that will prevent others from being killed the way you were. Life-Extension Systems, Universal Liberty, The Global Village Project, The Norw. Icebathing Club, Action 88/Residental Assoc. at Hovsetervn. 88 Trygve Bauge, pb. 59 Hovseter, N-0705 Oslo, Norway. Ph(47)22-14-80-78 Visit Trygve's Meta Portal (tm) www.trygve.bauge.com Content-Type: text/html; [ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=25950