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MixedNuts comments on [Link] Terry Pratchett begins formal process to end his life - Less Wrong
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Would be bad for cryonics. Assisted suicide opponents would scream "Cryonics gives people false hope so they can kill themselves!". People with bad but solvable problems would be more likely to choose suicide + cryo, as opposed to solving their problems (also as opposed to regular suicide, so it's unsure which is sadder - but the opposition would see the extra expected deaths more than the prevented ones).
At the very least, opposition to assisted suicide + cryo for the terminally ill seems like it would be very hard to defend.
I don't know what you mean by "defend," but I think people would find it very easy to take that position.
But then assisted suicide proponents could scream "See, it's doesn't have to actually be suicide. It can be turned into a futuristic medical treatment.". Also, it's possible that attitudes toward assisted suicide and potential attitudes towards cryonics are correlated -- people who are strongly against assisted suicide would oppose cryonics anyway so associating the concepts wouldn't hurt cryonics that much.
Besides, there's always the option of arranging cryosuspension discreetly and avoid any PR implications. Or isn't that feasible at all?
Okay if it involves brain degenerescence, but for most diseases, assisted suicide + cryo makes survival less likely than hanging on as long as possible + cryo. Also, there's a slippery slope from Alzheimer's patients getting frozen before their brain melts away, to terminal cancer patients getting frozen sooner than they absolutely must, to depressed patients getting frozen en masse rather than attempt treatment. Cryonics is the second-worst thing that can happen to you.
Black swan. If anybody finds out, there'll be a huge scandal.