An Open Letter to Physicians in Death-with-Dignity States (The Case of a Terminally Ill Cryonicist)

Abstract

Honoring someone’s "last wishes" is seen in our culture (and in many other cultures) as a benevolent duty. Here I look at the case of a terminally ill cryonicist residing in one of the death-with-dignity states of the USA. A particular cryonicist may not be a cryonics expert. Likewise, a particular physician may not be a cryonics expert. Hence, a rationale for this Open Letter is that I seek to educate both the physician and the cryonicist with respect to cryonics. For example, most cryonicists and most physicians are unaware that all of the biomedical technical papers about cryonics in the PubMed literature speak favorably of its eventual success.

Keywords: Aid in dying, Biomedical ethics, Cryonics, Cryonics patient, Cryonics and science, Cryonic, Cryonic hibernation, Suspended animation, Cryogenics

JEL Classification: I00