A judge rejected a mathematician's bid to have his head frozen before he dies so that future scientists can find a way to cure a malignant brain tumor and attach his head to a healthy body.
Superior Court Judge Ronald Stevens dismissed a petition Friday by Thomas Donaldson for the right to have cryonics technicians freeze his head before he is pronounced legally dead.Stevens said the courts have allowed the terminally ill to refuse medical treatment. But it would mark a "giant step" to allow others to freeze Donaldson before he is declared dead, the judge ruled.
Assistant Attorney General Kristofer Jorstad said Donaldson can "put a bullet into his own heart. ... But he can't have people associated with cryonics put that bullet into his heart. That's murder one."
Donaldson, 46, of Sunnyvale, says he wants his head quick-frozen using a process known as cryonic suspension. The procedure is allowed after death from natural causes. But Donaldson contends that if he waits until then, "there would be no point in being revived."
"Under the current, stupid criteria, my brain could be entirely destroyed before I'm declared dead," said Donaldson, a computer consultant to Silicon Valley companies. "That's why I filed the lawsuit."
Donaldson said his tumor cannot be surgically removed and has not responded to chemotherapy. According to court papers, it's currently stable and he has a 40 percent chance of living until August 1993.
Donaldson has 30 days to amend his suit and resubmit it to the judge. He said he would appeal if it is rejected again.
"If the case goes all the way to the Supreme Court and they turn me down, I'll just starve myself to death. Then I can be frozen before my brain goes and no one can be prosecuted," he said.