X-Message-Number: 3548 From: (Thomas Donaldson) Subject: CRYONICS: re $0014.419 Date: Fri, 30 Dec 1994 10:47:12 -0800 (PST) Hi (to Kevin and others): There is a very close political relationship. The FDA has become a monster and needs to be stopped, ideally if possible the entire Food and Drug Administration should be abolished and replaced by private testing labs. For cryonicists who haven't been watching, it has basically acted to delay use of ANY new technology in medicine, even in cases where that technology has been used with success many times in other countries. These delays have cost lives, trouble, and money to Americans. As at least some cryonicists know, Saul Kent and Bill Faloon have been very active as opponents of the FDA. To be coldly practical about this matter, given the small amount of resources that cryonics societies have, we should probably not get involved in this battle AS CRYONICISTS. (I think research in cryonics deserves more money than this battle). And I think that it's not a battle in which our support is crucial. As a matter of fact, I think it will be won before it ever becomes relevant to cryonics itself. But I will also say that if it HASN'T been won by then, I'm sure the FDA will do its best to prevent use of cryonics suspensionfor as long as it is able. There is a lot more that must happen before cryonics becomes commonly accepted, even if not commonly used. And the FDA is one agency which will make a BIG problem for that unless it's changed before then. Long long life, Thomas Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=3548