A high court in the United Kingdom has granted a 14-year old girl's request to be cryogenically frozen.
Before her death, a 14-year old girl identified as JS requested for her body to be cryogenically frozen, with the hope that she could be brought back to life sometime in the future. While her father opposed, the court ruled that disposal of her body could be rightfully decided by her mother who supported her last request.
Months before her death, JS used the internet to research about the process of cryonics. According to The Guardian, she sent a letter to the court explaining why she wanted to be cryogenically frozen. The letter read that "I don't want to be buried underground. I want to live and live longer and I think that in the future they might find a cure for my cancer and wake me up. I want to have this chance. This is my wish."
The judge, by the name of Mr. Justice Peter Jackson, deemed JS' request as exceptional. She wrote in her statement that she was moved by how the child boldly faced her predicament. Now, her body is cryogenically frozen and has been transported from London to the United States by a commercial company who charged them £37,000 ($45710.91). Since the child's family is not well-off, a voluntary group of cryonics enthusiast from the United Kingdom (who are not medically trained) offered to make the arrangements.
In terms of legality, Professor Emily Jackson, an expert in the field of medical law and ethics of the London School of Economics, said that the process of having a body cryogenically frozen was not dealt with by criminal law. As such, the Telegraph reported that the judge's decision in the case of JS sets no precedent in terms of forcing hospitals to expedite the procedure in the future.