[extropy-chat] ILE: life just got a little more complicated

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Karen Rand Smigrodzki <Karen at smigrodzki.org> wrote:
> -----
> From: "Mike Lorrey"
> > --- "Robert J. Bradbury" > >
> > > It would appear that we are on a road where at least some
> > > states may confiscate parts of your remains to preserve
> > > the lives of others whether you feel this is reasonable
> > > or not.
> > >
> > > Discussion?
> >
> > 14th Amendment, end of story. You own your body. When you die, it
> > is part of your estate. Any state that would confiscate your body
> > parts is fascist and should be moved out of ASAP. I would not be
> > surprised if
> > people's republics like Taxifornia and Washington adopted such
> > policies. I don't mind, it will keep pushing more people to move to
> > the Free State.
> 
>        You are, I assume, stating what you think the law SHOULD be
> and not
> what it IS. It is clear that the body and it's parts are NOT property
> under
> the law. When you die, your body does NOT become property of the
> estate.

Don't know what state or country you live in. Last time I checked, the
14th Amendment was clearly interpreted by SCOTUS as saying that you own
yourself: no slavery, peony, or indenturement allowed. It is a well
settled matter of probate law that the deceased's wishes about disposal
of their body are paramount, and if the deceased does not explicitly
say so, their next of kin, NOT the state, has the right to dispose of
the body. Why? Because under common law, the individuals power to enter
into contracts is unlimited. A will is paramount as the final contract
you execute.

While fascist states like California may be changing this, their
changes are not necessarily constitutional. They can claim, if they
wish, that a dead body without a will specifying disposal is tantamount
to abandoned property. They may even claim that surrender of organs is
the price of receiving government benefits of any kind (medicaid,
medicare, social security, welfare, bankruptcy. The problem is that the
confiscatory attitudes of such fascist states hit head-on the legal
traditions of the constitution and common law.

>        Your guess of Taxifornia being one which would take your
> organs is on target. They have the opt-out law that I was
> mentioning in my previous
> response to this topic. I am not sure about Washington. I can find
> out, if you need it.

Nope, I'm in NH, where my body is my own. Y'all are quite welcome to
join us here in the Free State and build real cryonics protections into
law. We have the ear of the governor, who is a tech-nerd himself.

See Friendster FreeStateProjct FreeStateProjct for my journal of this
past weekend's LPNH Convention.

=====
Mike Lorrey
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                                    - Gen. John Stark
Blog: Sado-Mikeyism: http://mikeysoft.zblogger.com
Flight sims: http://www.x-plane.org/users/greendragon/
Pro-tech freedom discussion:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/exi-freedom

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