GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: Cryonics lab sued for freezing man’s head but not his body

domingo, 16 de septiembre de 2018

Cryonics lab sued for freezing man’s head but not his body

Cryonics lab sued for freezing man’s head but not his body

Bioedge

Cryonics lab sued for freezing man’s head but not his body

by Xavier Symons | 15 Sep 2018 |

A man is suing the US cryonics firm Alcor after his deceased father was cremated and only his head preserved, despite a contract specifying whole body preservation.

Kurt Pilgeram’s father Dr. Laurence Pilgeram, a scientist, had taken out a contract with Alcor in the early 1990s, requesting that his body be preserved upon death. Preservation costs upwards of US$80,000, and “members” must also pay a yearly fee.

Dr. Pigeram died in 2015 at 90 years of age after collapsing on the sidewalk outside his home in Goleta, California. His body was taken to an Alcor facility where it is alleged that the company deliberately had his body cremated and only preserved his head. Kurt Pilgeram heard nothing from the company for two weeks after his father’s death, until a package arrived at his door with his father’s cremated remains.

Mr. Pilgeram’s lawyers say that he has suffered “extreme emotional distress as a result of Alcor's actions and has been injured as alleged in an amount in excess of $1 million”.

An Alcor spokesperson told Gizmodo in an email that, “At this time Alcor cannot specifically comment about this case but Alcor generally is confident that the legal system will properly run its course, as it has in the past”.

While cryonics businesses have received significant media attention, only small number of people have opted to have their remains frozen. Dr Pilgeram was only the 135th individual to opt in for cryogenic preservation with Alcor as of 2015.

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Last year Sydney journalist Miranda Devine interviewed Australia’s first out-of-the-closet transsexual, Carlotta, a cabaret performer and TV actor. Carlotta had what is now called “gender-affirming” surgery in the early 1970s and built a career in show biz. Her advice to teenagers who want to transition to the opposite sex: “Don’t give the child hormones. Wait till 18. You shouldn’t fool around with the body until you’re mature.”

This seems common sense. However, as an article in JAMA Pediatrics (see below) reports, girls as young as 13 are receiving mastectomies to treat their gender dysphoria. Two years later (ie, when they’re 15) the transteens are supposedly as happy as Larry with their “top job”.

This doesn’t seem common sense. How can a girl of 13 give truly informed consent to a life-changing operation which removes both of her breasts? As a growing number of “detransitioners” bear witness, this is crazy. “I’m a real-live 22-year-old woman with a scarred chest and a broken voice and a 5 o’clock shadow because I couldn’t face the idea of growing up to be a woman,” says Carla in a YouTube video.

The risk of turning a young girl’s life into a misery is just too great to allow teen mastectomies before adulthood. In fact, it’s hard to describe it as anything other than child abuse by her physicians and psychologists. What do you think?