A dying teenage girl has won a landmark legal bid to have her body cryogenically frozen in the hope of being brought back to life in the future.
The 14-year-old had her wish granted shortly before she died of a rare form of cancer in October.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The judge ruled that the girl's mother should be allowed to decide. The body of the girl, who was described as a "bright, intelligent young person", has been taken to the US and preserved there.
Justice Peter Jackson, who visited the girl in hospital, said he was moved by the "valiant way" in which she faced her "predicament".
He said the girl, who spent months researching how she could be frozen, "died peacefully in the knowledge her body would be preserved in the way she wished".
She wrote: "I have been asked to explain why I want this unusual thing done. I am only 14-years-old and I don't want to die but I know I am going to die.
"I think being cryo-preserved gives me a chance to be cured and woken up – even in hundreds of years' time. I don't want to be buried underground. I want to live and live longer and I think that in the future they may find a cure for my cancer and wake me up.
"I want to have this chance. This is my wish."
-
West End Girl: a ‘tremendously touching’ break-up albumThe Week Recommends Lily Allen’s unfiltered new work is ‘littered with relatable moments’
-
Are car headlights are too bright?The Explainer 82% of UK drivers concerned about being ‘dazzled’ as LED bulbs become more common
-
What you need to know about last-minute travelThe Week Recommends You can book an awesome trip with a moment’s notice
-
Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could help fight cancerUnder the radar They boost the immune system
-
Deadly fungus tied to a pharaoh's tomb may help fight cancerUnder the radar A once fearsome curse could be a blessing
-
'Poo pills' and the war on superbugsThe Explainer Antimicrobial resistance is causing millions of deaths. Could a faeces-filled pill change all that?
-
The Y chromosome degrades over time. And men's health is paying for itUnder the radar The chromosome loss is linked to cancer and Alzheimer's
-
A bacterial toxin could be contributing to the colorectal cancer rise in young peopleUnder the radar Most exposure occurs in childhood
-
Why are more young people getting bowel cancer?The Explainer Alarming rise in bowel-cancer diagnoses in under-50s is puzzling scientists
-
Five medical breakthroughs of 2024The Explainer The year's new discoveries for health conditions that affect millions
-
Covid might be to blame for an uptick in rare cancersThe explainer The virus may be making us more susceptible to certain cancers
