[Vision2020] Rights to kill

[Sue Hovey]

Well, Ted,  I’m supposing this must have been covered in the contract she and you signed.  Anyway, if you refuse to allow  the device to be detached so that force is the only other alternative, that is the option you chose, not she.  Wouldn’t it then be suicide if you died?  Just a thought, which I don’t intend to pursue any further. 

Sue 

From: Ted Moffett 
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2010 3:32 PM
To: Robert Dickow 
Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com 
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Rights to kill

I suppose it goes without saying that such an arrangement, where removing the device would be fatal, and the device is not necessary to save a life, but is an optional life-style choice, is rather unlikely to be medically approved, it seems to me ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primum_non_nocere ), which would not stop illegal arrangements. of course.  But for a situation where removal was fatal, assuming such a device became approved for medical use, the legal responsibilities and options for both parties would likely already be spelled out in detail, in some sort of contract, I guess...

I suppose this thought experiment has ethical connections to abortion rights debates, but the arrangement is between two consenting adults, I assume (?), whereas a fetus cannot legally consent to anything.

To explore more options for your thought experiment, that were not discussed, that I read, what if the women is killed in an accident or dies of medical causes or murder?  Of course this possibility is rather obvious and would be considered before such an arrangement was pursued.
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett


On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 7:57 AM, Robert Dickow <dickow at uidaho.edu> wrote:

  Hi all,



  This is sort of a new thread. Maybe. Anyway, let’s try a little thought experiment. Suppose, at some time in the not-too-distant future, we have the technology to hook up an adult to a woman via a kind of mechanical placenta. Ok, so let’s say I decide to work out a deal with a local female that I contact via Cupid.com and arrange to hook myself up to her body via the new apparatus. After all, I live alone, and I’m tired of fixing myself TV Dinners, and I’m a lousy cook, and I want to simply have a little vacation and be nourished through my new (and rather expensive) MicroSoft Placenta XT Version 2.3. The woman agrees, and we undergo the simple but delicate procedure to install the artificial placenta and wire it up to my belly button. Six weeks later, she decides she has changed her mind and doesn’t like me parasitizing off her, despite the princely weekly deductions from my PayPal account that we agreed would be fair exchange for the deal. Of course, I’m quite happy with my arrangement, and I refuse to detach the device, which of course is under my control, protected as it is with a secure 164-bit Ryndael Encrypted password system (Patent Pend). The authorities can’t forceably detach me from the device without killing me, and such action might kill my host as well (although this only happens in a small percentage of cases). 



  Now, a question: Does the woman have the right to arrange to have me detached, thereby killing me?



  If yes, could the detachment service costs by Federally funded?



  P.S. Microsoft eventually develops a male version of the placenta, so that males can serve as hosts as well.



  Bob Dickow, troublemaker


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