Your eternity might very well go nowhere but here. What?

[Refugee]

Maybe people should write in the will , that they would like their head stuffed by a taxidermist , and mounted on a polished timber shield ? .....stranger things have happened . Have you ever seen a sailor perform the sex act on a dead sardine ?

Many times. Welcome to tpf.

[Lummy]

Whoa, easy Elmo.

[Lummy]

You do know what it means to play devil's advocate, don't you? It means that I'm going to deliberately assume the antithesis of your argument which gives you the opportunity to substantiate your opinion with a logical and reasoned argument. By definition that means not calling me a '$#@!head'.

Calling you a what? Okay, I'll leave that to you.

First and foremost, a dead body has no rights, notwithstanding laws that make it illegal to commit an indignity to a dead body. Otherwise, your corpse legally belongs to your family, if they choose to claim it. If not, it has about the same status as medical waste. Unclaimed corpses are made available to medical schools and other organizations that use human remains for scientific study. If the corpse is not considered useful for scientific study it is disposed of by the City. The law has not assigned any value to the uniqueness of your DNA.

Uh-huh. Well, right off the bat, not honoring the wishes of the deceased is an indignity, and the law is negligent about that. On the simplest level, "human resources" implies value. That aside, yes it does have value for other reasons. You say that unclaimed medical waste has no value, except that it does, regardless that your family doesn't want anything to do with your remains ever again and would indeed rather they be dumped in the landfill. To explain that to you another way, DrWho, the family probably would be very interested in your remains if they were aware that Harvard, say, was interested in Fred cold slabbed. An exchange with a medical school -- Uncle Fred for $5000 payment, say -- should be a matter for the family to decide if Fred left no instructions on the matter. But alas, Harvard can wait until the corpse cools to become free stuff, according to you. Oddly enough, once planted in the dirt or some other resting place, Fred then apparently does have certain rights. In law, at least, he is resurrected. No illogic there, at least anything that bothers genius that's hitting on all three. Or four.

Yeah, it's all dignified.

I don't believe in the existence of Satan, so you can be rest assured that my speculation is not Satanic. Furthermore, I have never even considered the topic under discussion until you brought it up.

Uh-huh ... Of course you don't, but how did I know? ... Uh-huh ... Yeah, right ... Me neither ...

Maybe we need an organization that advocates the legal rights of a stiff?

Yes, but first things first -- something in the law that would establish those rights. It is an ethical and relgious issue and should be a matter of law, and the law is negligent in this area. A corpse should have rights, especially as pertain to the wishes of the person while they were alive, and especially -- and this is very important too -- because we do not know what the Hereafter is about.

Can genes be patented? Yes.

Despite what DrWho says, your genes can be patented by any interested party. Google it. It's free stuff to government and academia, without a thought that the world would be better off if some genes were incinerated in the burn barrel out back.

[jigglepete]

I think it starts with picking an executor that likes you and will comply with your wishes, whatever they may be.

[carolina73]

I have a good friend whose wife decided to go against his cremation wishes and buried him. She then moved over a thousand miles away, his kids live as far or further and he is sitting under ice in New England with no one there to visit him.
He wanted his ashes to be spread on the ocean. Instead he got iced by his wife. You should be able to state in your will what you want.

[jigglepete]

I have a good friend whose wife decided to go against his cremation wishes and buried him. She then moved over a thousand miles away, his kids live as far or further and he is sitting under ice in New England with no one there to visit him.
He wanted his ashes to be spread on the ocean. Instead he got iced by his wife. You should be able to state in your will what you want.

Harsh...My Dad took me aside and told me his wishes (take a handful of me, and a handful of your Mother, mix us together and toss us at the head of the Megunticook River, the rest you can throw in the dumpster, I did not comply with the last part BTW, I just picked some of their favorite spots and dispersed) because he felt like my sisters might not do as he wished...

[Dr. Who]

Calling you a what? Okay, I'll leave that to you.




Uh-huh. Well, right off the bat, not honoring the wishes of the deceased is an indignity, and the law is negligent about that. On the simplest level, "human resources" implies value. That aside, yes it does have value for other reasons. You say that unclaimed medical waste has no value, except that it does, regardless that your family doesn't want anything to do with your remains ever again and would indeed rather they be dumped in the landfill. To explain that to you another way, DrWho, the family probably would be very interested in your remains if they were aware that Harvard, say, was interested in Fred cold slabbed. An exchange with a medical school -- Uncle Fred for $5000 payment, say -- should be a matter for the family to decide if Fred left no instructions on the matter. But alas, Harvard can wait until the corpse cools to become free stuff, according to you. Oddly enough, once planted in the dirt or some other resting place, Fred then apparently does have certain rights. In law, at least, he is resurrected. No illogic there, at least anything that bothers genius that's hitting on all three. Or four.

Yeah, it's all dignified.



Uh-huh ... Of course you don't, but how did I know? ... Uh-huh ... Yeah, right ... Me neither ...



Yes, but first things first -- something in the law that would establish those rights. It is an ethical and relgious issue and should be a matter of law, and the law is negligent in this area. A corpse should have rights, especially as pertain to the wishes of the person while they were alive, and especially -- and this is very important too -- because we do not know what the Hereafter is about.

Can genes be patented? Yes.

Despite what DrWho says, your genes can be patented by any interested party. Google it. It's free stuff to government and academia, without a thought that the world would be better off if some genes were incinerated in the burn barrel out back.

I didn't say that your genes can't be patented. In fact, I asked you whether you had patented your DNA. So, you could patent your genes in advance of your demise, ensuring that they can never be used in a manner contrary to your wishes.

[Dr. Who]

I have a good friend whose wife decided to go against his cremation wishes and buried him. She then moved over a thousand miles away, his kids live as far or further and he is sitting under ice in New England with no one there to visit him.
He wanted his ashes to be spread on the ocean. Instead he got iced by his wife. You should be able to state in your will what you want.

My Dad verbally stated that he wanted his ashes cast into the Atlantic Ocean, so we all went to the coast, rented a fishing boat for about an hour and had the captain take us out beyond the three mile limit to disperse his ashes. It was a beautiful morning in July. We tossed roses in the ocean after the ashes. I think we honored his wishes and if he was watching, he had to have been pleased.

[Lummy]

I didn't say that your genes can't be patented. In fact, I asked you whether you had patented your DNA. So, you could patent your genes in advance of your demise, ensuring that they can never be used in a manner contrary to your wishes.

Only the costliest, least reliable, and dare I say, silliest idea from you, thanks so much. You must be in a business where economy is of no concern.

My Dad verbally stated that he wanted his ashes cast into the Atlantic Ocean, so we all went to the coast, rented a fishing boat for about an hour and had the captain take us out beyond the three mile limit to disperse his ashes.

[carolina73]

My Dad verbally stated that he wanted his ashes cast into the Atlantic Ocean, so we all went to the coast, rented a fishing boat for about an hour and had the captain take us out beyond the three mile limit to disperse his ashes. It was a beautiful morning in July. We tossed roses in the ocean after the ashes. I think we honored his wishes and if he was watching, he had to have been pleased.

Sounds perfect to me. Same as my request but I think I will ask for them to spread the ashes in the ocean and then pur a bottle of Guinness over them instead of the roses. They should also have mimosas and bloody marys.

As far as my DNA. If they want it then they can have it. Who cares?