Owen, you may not already be aware, but there is a group of BC cryonicists and cryo-enthusiasts operating under the name cryoBC. Those of us in the Vancouver/Lower Mainland area meet in Vancouver every other month, and we are incorporating a non-profit entity to help tackle this very issue (among others relevant to cryonics in the province, such as developing local stabilization capabilities).
Having a facebook page for the non-profit organization will be a no-brainer once it's up and running, but a 'cause' page specific to the prohibition on the marketing and sale of cryonics arrangements in the province is a neat idea.
There are a number of undefined terms in the statutory provision (s.14 of the BC Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act) which need to be researched before we can really know exactly how to tackle it. For instance, the prohibition specifically targets cryonics (or other) arrangements sold "on the expectation of the resuscitation of human remains at a future time" - Well, what constitutes an "expectation"? Does it matter whether a consumer holds a particular expectation in spite of clear language from the service provider that no such expectation is being sold? And further, what constitutes resuscitation? If a person "expects" that their way out of cryopreservation will involve some or another form of mind-uploading, is the statute avoided entirely? On the other hand, "human remains" is defined specifically as a "dead human body." Perhaps neuros don't have to worry, provided that separation is carried out in BC, at which point the whole transaction might fall instead under the Human Tissue Gift Act.
In any case, we cannot fight what we do not understand, so legal research is a necessary first step, IMO. I assume you're still in Victoria, Owen? I used to live there, and visit with some regularity. If you can't make it to the next cryoBC meeting (late July, exact date TBD), then we should grab a coffee on the island soon.
[Once again, accidentally posted this draft before I finished it blah blah.]
It sounds like you guys have already got this, then. I wasn't aware of any of the work you're doing, so thanks for telling me.
I was just feeling, ya know, my parents are getting older, and I've worked at a 'care home' (a heart-rendingly insane institution, a house of unnecessary death and despair), and the voices in my head wouldn't stop screaming to do something, so.
I think I'll keep working on this when I get the time, but I'll make sure to run what I get by you first to make sur...
[Edit: I did not mean to post this, just save it as a draft (I only remember pressing the 'save and continue' button, not the 'submit' button. That shouldn't've posted it, right?).
Anyway, that's why it dissolves into slightly cryptic point form notes to myself at the end. Don't have the time right the now to flesh it out, so I'm just leaving it as is.]
I just noticed that there is no facebook group with this aim. I would like to create one. I feel that it *might* be a way to finally get enough 'special interest/human rights' force concentrated on the problem to fix it, if the presentation is done well.
Would anyone like to help me write the group description and accompanying information, optimizing for effectiveness?
Such a group would have two main audiences, and two main purposes:
1 - For those who already understand and support cryonics, it would be a means to coordinate action and share information.
2 - For those who have never really thought about cryonics before, but may well be open to the idea, it would serve as an introduction and hopefully cause them to join the first group.
As regards the first group, the only major point to stress that springs to my mind is the importance of keeping their *effectiveness* foremost in mind when taking their actions, which mostly just means reminding them to be very friendly, polite, and pleasant while pestering and trying to educate the bureaucrats and politicians.
But for the second group, well, I don't need to describe the difficulty in leading people to understanding across this particular inferential distance. How to do it in a snappy, engaging way?
- The essential human issues at the root here: Hope and love, and freedom.
- That the group is intended for people in BC and people with friends and family here put in danger by the law.
- technical skepticism
- moral confusion
- image. Narrative, short story
Resources I am thinking of drawing on are:
Scientists' Open Letter on Cryonics
Ben Best's FAQs
This page on BC's anti-cryonics law at the Canadian Cryonics Society
This article in the Tyee
letter to mom after Sandy's death