HA570 Unit 7 Discussion
Discuss whether individuals should have the right to undergo cryonics. Discuss the moral, ethical, and legal implications of legalizing cryonics for chronically ill patients. Reference any federal laws applicable to this scenario.
Use as references any of this sources:
Pendo, E. (2015). What patients with disabilities teach us about the everyday ethics of health care. Wake Forest Law Review, 50(2), 287-300.
Rosenberg, A. R., Wolfe, J., Wiener, L., Lyon, M., & Feudtner, C. (2016). Ethics, Emotions, and the Skills of Talking About Progressing Disease With Terminally Ill Adolescents: A Review. JAMA Pediatrics, 170(12), 1216-1223. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016
Moore, J., Engel, J., & Prentice, D. (2014). Relational ethics in everyday practice. Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal, 24(1), 31-34. doi:10.5737/1181912×2413134
Olsen, D. P., Chan, R., & Lehto, R. (2017). Ethical Nursing Care When the Terminally Ill Patient Seeks Death. The American Journal Of Nursing, 117(7), 50-55. doi:10.1097/01.NAJ.0000520948.84965.fa
Sandefur, C. (2017). Safeguarding the right to try. Arizona State Law Journal, 49(2), 513-536.
Shanbhag, V. L. (2017). Assessment of Ethical Aspects of Cryonics: An Emerging Technology. Journal Of The Scientific Society, 44(2), 63-66. doi:10.4103/jss.JSS_19_17
Cerullo, M. A. (2016). The Ethics of Exponential Life Extension through Brain Preservation. Journal Of Evolution & Technology, 26(1), 94-105.
Hunter-Johnson, L., Von Koenig, J., & Wheeler, W. L. (2016). Cryonic Preservation of a Patient Dying from Head Trauma. Journal Of Palliative Medicine, 19(5), 475-476. doi:10.1089/jpm.2016.0020
In two diferent paragraph give your personal opinion to Colin Preston and Paula Switzer
Colin Preston
Cryonics is the field of science where a person, after death, is frozen in the expectation that there will be a cure for whatever caused their death. When a treatment or cure is found in the future, the corpse would be thawed and treated. There is no evidence that this will be successful, and the use of cryonics is speculative at best. (Hospital News)
There are currently no US laws that expressly forbid the practice of cryonics but there are laws that apply both in favor and against the treatment of human “remains”. There are laws that regulate the appropriate treatment of a corpse in order to preserve dignity and public health. These laws typically apply to funeral homes or prohibit people from performing burials without a license. There are laws that could be construed as supportive of cryonics. These laws address the donation of a body for medical research. (Bridge, 1994)
A person does have broad and significant rights in terms of what they can decide can be done with their body upon death. The person could choose traditional burial, cremation, have their ashes scattered, or donate their body for the purpose of scientific research. A person, I believe should have the right to make these decisions. (Bridge, 1994)
The moral implications of opting for cryonics is up to the individual and their hope for a cure at some point in the future. Ethically, this practice, while not widely accepted or regulated, is still a concept that may be gaining popularity and support. Legally, as stated above, is not expressly prohibited and there are labs that perform this service throughout the country. (Shanbhag, 2017)
At this point the practice has no proven benefit and may be more of a psychological comfort to a person or family who may not be able to accept their terminal situation. If potentially “quack” science provides solace, and no one is harmed, why not allow people to hang on to hope and undergo this process.
Fun Read: Ted Williams was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. After his death two of his three children fought to have his remains cryonically frozen. See the reference below to read the bizarre story about the battle between his children and the mistreatment of his remains by the cryonics lab. (Funeral Industry News, 2019)
References
Purtilo, R., Doherty, R. (102015). Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions, 6th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf 9.2]. Retrieved from (vbk://9780323328920)
Smith, K., Bianchi A., Hospital News, Ethical Issues of Cryonics, Retrieved from (https://hospitalnews.com/ethical-issues-of-cryonics/)
Shanbhag, V., Journal of the Scientific Society, Vol. 44 2017, Assessment Of Ethical Aspects Of Cryonics: An Emerging Technology, Retrieved from (http://www.jscisociety.com/article.asp?issn=0974-5009;year=2017;volume=44;issue=2;spage=63;epage=66;aulast=Shanbhag)
Funeral Industry News, Connecting Directors, April 2019, Who Should Have Called Foul When Cryonics Lab Took a Swing at Ted Williams’ Frozen Head? Retrieved from (https://connectingdirectors.com/53931-ted-williams)
Bridge, S., Alcor, 1994, The Legal Status of Cryonics Patients, Retrieved from(https://alcor.org/Library/html/legalstatus.html)
Paula