Mr. Freeze says “Cool down”
Freezing a human does not have an immediate use to scientist and researcher but in the future, it could find some use. By freezing humans and using the frozen material in the future this could lead to opportunities of studying genetic material and reviving a human being in cryostasis. By studying the frozen genetic material scientists could compare it to the genetic material with those in the time period of the scientists. Comparing genetic material over many generations can help for scientists to find a variation in the human genome and give the ability for said scientists to possibly open up new areas of study. On the topic of reviving humans, think of the possibility of bringing some of the big name actor and actresses back from the dead of some of the greatest minds back. You could bring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, one of the strongest celebrity power couples, or Francis Crick and James Watson, those most credited with the discovery of the double helix. Although there will be advances in technology and sciences, older minds can help for younger and more advanced minds to understand older topics.
Human cryogenics can be used to increase human life expectancy and keep the most powerful minds alive. If scientists are able to freeze people to preserve them for the future, we would be able to keep people “alive” for longer or technically “freezing them in time”. This could potentially change the way that we see life because humans can essentially, cheat death by freezing their bodies for the future. This could be used to save the most brilliant minds in the world or to store our”children” for the future. Scientists are looking into the process of freezing embryos and freezing them to be used in the future. Many women freeze their fertilized eggs so that after they have gotten their education and have stabilized their careers, these women could then use the eggs that they have frozen to have their babies. Women could use this so that their eggs to not “wear out” as they age. The healthy eggs that are taken from early on in her life (maybe from 18 to mid 20’s) will stay “fresher” and be able to be used for creating a child.
There are some drawbacks to cryonics. Many may find it unethical to essentially “cheat” death. Many see life as something that you get once (hence YOLO) and to “cheat it” means that you are getting far more opportunity than those before you, which would be unfair and an abuse of technology. This also goes against the belief that what happens in life happens for a reason and it should not be gone against or cheated. Life comes naturally and so does death. People wonder if it really is the right thing to do if dying is supposed to be natural. In addition, despite the technological advancements that enable humans to cryogenically freeze things without suffering severe tissue damage (or any damage at all) it is not a 100 percent success rate.
Interview Questions and Answers
The 2 following questions were asked a few young women and mothers:
- Would you rather have children in your early 20’s and pursue a career after this (or not at all) or pursue your career and have children later on in your life? Would your opinion change if you could freeze your eggs so that they can be stored for later on in your life?
- Most women that I asked said that they would like to have children in their 20’s rather than in their 30’s because the women feel that if they do not have children early on in their life, they will not feel the urge to have children later on in life.
- Is there any personal benefits that you can think of when you are given an explanation of being able to freeze your eggs? (Some things that are unique to yourself and your living situation?)
- Many women feel that if they were to become infertile or have precautions with their reproductive health, the woman would then freeze their eggs so that they could possibly have a surrogate mother.
The following questions were asked some people of the general public:
- If you could freeze yourself to be preserved and defrosted in the future, would you do this? Why? Consider the situations that you lie in and the world in general.
- Almost all of the people that I asked said that they would like to freeze themselves to be thawed in the future because they dislike their lives at the moment. However, the people that said yes also wanted to be frozen with a friend so that they would not be alone.
- If you have a loved one who is involved in an accident or has an illness with no cure so far, would you consider freezing them if they were okay with it so that in the future, they could be cured?
- Some people said yes to freezing a loved one only if they consented to it because of the reason that they are a loved one. Nobody wants to have to experience someone they care about dying. On the other hand, some people don’t feel that they should freeze a loved one who has their life in danger because the person feels that death is a natural thing and although it will be hard to deal with if their loved one dies, life stills goes on.
- Would you consider donating your body to science so that it could be studied in the field of cryonics as your “material” will sustain little no damage?
- Some of the people that I asked said that they would not like to because the people do not want their bodies played with after they die. This ties in with some of the persons religious and ethnic beliefs.
Personal Reflection:
Topics involving re-designing life and genetic engineering a human all find some form of both moral and immoral stand points. Many find it morally correct to consider using cryogenics to preserve a human body near death so that they would be able to have a chance later on in the future when they person is thawed and cured of any disease that he/she may suffer from. It could be used as a way of saving people from the brink of death and giving this person another opportunity to life. However, many others do not see this to be morally correct. These people see death as a natural thing, which it is. They do not believe that people should be cheating death by freezing themselves to be preserved. Everyone gets one chance of life (hence YOLO) so although one’s life may be cut short because of an illness or injury, it is their responsibility to live the life that they have to the fullest. I fall under the stance that it is unethical and is immoral to freeze people so that they can be unfrozen in the future and essentially “cheat death.” I also view death as a natural thing and although I can say that it is a hard thing to deal with, the world is how it is and things die as nature intended them to. Of course there are exceptions to this, meaning that people can die from gun wounds or be killed in battle, but that is something that all people in the world have to deal with. We humans live in an age of technology and human advancement but this also brings in the threat of war and abuse of new technologies.
Citations and Sources:
Cryonics Institute. (2014, January 1). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.cryonics.org/
Ethical Concerns Of Cryonics. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.rocketswag.com/retirement/anti-aging/cryonics/Ethical-Concerns-Of-Cryonics.html
Alcor: About Cryonics. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from
Diamond, K. (1998). Cryogenics and Frozen Embryo Regulation. CRYOGENICS, FROZEN EMBRYOS AND THE NEED FOR NEW MEANS OF REGULATION: WHY THE U.S. IS FROZEN IN ITS CURRENT APPROACH, 11(2), 77-100. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.lowenstein.com/files/Publication/39c1031b-f828-4945-9e0d-863078109a75/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/c882dfd6-9b4a-4819-8365-86979dce2bcf/Cyrogenics Frozen Embryos KD NYLR 1998.pdf
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