The terminally ill 14-year-old girl achieved her last wish when the High Court of Great Britain granted her request for permission to hold a teenager cryo-freezing by a company providing such services in the United States. This first case of its kind has created an important precedent for the future in providing such services.
The court ruled that the mother of the girl, who supported the desire of her daughter, will become the person entrusted with the responsibility for the decision made regarding the future fate of the body of the teenager. Litigation complicated the fact that the girl's parents are currently divorced. Therefore, a dispute arose between the parties about the fulfillment of the last wish of a dying child, according to which her body should be placed in the Cryonics Institute (Michigan, USA). This desire was initially opposed by the girl’s father, but finally agreed, telling the court:
“I respect the decision made by my daughter. It was the only and last request she asked me for. ”
The girl, known as Jay S (full name is not reported), died on October 17 and is now at the Institute of Cryonics, becoming the 143rd "patient" of this institution. To protect the girl from additional experiences about her sad and ineffectual struggle with the deadly disease, the press did not report anything to the press until the girl died.
Jay C lived most of her life with her mother and did not see her father during the last 8 years. Therefore, she even refused to let him see her when he found out about her illness last year. As a minor, Jay S could not legally give her permission to freeze her body. The girl’s father initially opposed this idea, so her only option was to go to court. Since at the time of the trial the girl was already very sick to take part in it, she explained:
“I was asked to explain why I want to have such an unusual procedure with my body. I am only 14 years old, and I do not want to die, but I understand that it is inevitable. I think that cryo-freezing can give me at least a tiny chance that one day they will cure me and I will wake up hundreds of years later. I don't want to be buried underground. I want to live. I really want to live and believe that in the future, scientists will be able to find a way to cure my cancer and bring me back to life. I want to have this chance. This is my greatest desire. ”
Judge Peter Jackson, who dealt with the case, visited Jay C in the hospital and later said that "the final decision was made on the basis of what a brave and difficult path this girl had to go." Calling this case “outstanding”, the judge stated that this case, the first of its kind for the courts of Great Britain and, possibly, for the courts of the whole world, is “an example of when science is on par with the law and, possibly, before most aspects family law. Jackson also added that "previously no parent was put in a situation in which Father Jay C got into."
Cryonics is currently considered a very controversial practice, offering the cryopreservation of a recently deceased person to liquid hydrogen in the hope of “resurrecting” it in the future. There is no evidence that this method really works. However, lawyers say that cryonics "somehow increases the chance" for a person to return to life, even though it only seems like science fiction. Explaining the decision, Judge Jackson pointed out that cryopreservation is becoming increasingly common in various fields of medicine, citing as an example the freezing of sperm and embryos.
“Cryonics is cryopreservation at its limits,” said Jackson.
The financial condition of the girl’s parents did not allow them to carry out the procedure for cryo-freezing of their daughter, so in this case the necessary funds in the amount of $ 45,000 were helped by the girl’s grandparents. Local cryonics experts and enthusiasts helped parents prepare the girl's body for transportation to the United States. The doubting professional medical staff assisted in carrying out the necessary procedures.
“Such situations necessarily lead to the emergence of serious legal and ethical issues related to the trust attitude of hospitals, which have to simultaneously operate within the law, as well as responsibilities that other patients and other medical personnel face,” the judge said.
The hospital where Jay C was kept made it very clear that she did not approve of cryonics, and the staff was deeply insecure in the process.
Nevertheless, the judge rightly points out that this case is a matter of science and technology and changing sociocultural norms related to death, rather than a question of the law and the health care system. This case shows that the emerging precedents associated with the practice of cryonics and other futuristic practices that seem so far are beginning to become the norm.
It is also important to note that this case is not a simple granting of the “right” to a girl to be cryo-conserved. This case also cannot be considered allegedly from the point of view of the desire of the law seeking to impose its control on science and ethics, as well as make decisions based on the effectiveness of the current state of cryoscience. First of all, the question is related to the court ruling that the mother in this matter was the best representative of the girl’s interests, who expressed her desire to undergo the cryo-freezing procedure. It is also important to understand that this case clearly shows that the desire to be cryogenic is not something radical, something that can influence the decision of the judge in such matters.
In the end, the judge pointed out that the girl had died in the world, knowing that her last and most intimate desire would still be fulfilled.
The article is based on materials .
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