Let Her Live (Someday)

A controversial decision was made in November. An earnest girl wrote in, dying of cancer, asking for another chance at life at a later time. High Court Judge Peter Jackson decided to grant her final wishes. This is a landmark case, the first case of its kind in England, and, possibly, the world. Her note, written in her defense, contains a simple request with many complications and unknowns: "I don't want to be buried underground...I want to have this chance. This is my wish." link

The fourteen year old petitioned the judge earnestly, "I want to live and live longer and I think that in the future they may find a cure for my cancer and wake me up,...being cryopreserved gives me a chance to be cured and woken up — even in hundreds of years' time."

Her remains were left in full charge of her mother, as her father, at first, objected to the treatment. He brought up a very logical point: even if she were to be woken up in the future, she may not be able to find any relatives, much less any sort of support system set up for her. She may feel desperate now, regarding her short life...but may be left in an even more desperate situation after life. However, he later changed his mind saying simply: "This is the last and only thing she has asked from me,"

Judge Jackson commented on the case: "It is no surprise that this application is the only one of its kind to have come before the courts in this country — and probably anywhere else," He also acknowledges his ruling, and the case itself, as "an example of the new questions that science poses to the law."

Barry Fuller, a specialist in low-temperature medicine at University College London, has communicated that the technology of preserving cells at ultra-low temperatures is promising...but cannot yet be positively applied to large structures like a human kidney, and other vital organs.

Luckily, this was passed just eleven days before her passing. Her lawyer, Zoe Fleetwood, said it brought her great comfort to know that she may have another chance at life...no matter how far in the future.

The above image is from Flickr user bloomsberries and is licensed under creative commons.