ISSN Imprimer: 2151-805X
ISSN En ligne: 2151-8068
On the Precipice of Life: A Contractarian Analysis of Suspended Animation
RÉSUMÉ
In the event an individual sustains a fatal injury, doctors are granted an average of 15 minutes to respond before the likeliness of death greatly increases. Approximately 40% of traumatic injury deaths are due to blood loss and 35% of trauma patients die en route to the emergency room, which necessitates an alternative and immediate method of treatment. Suspended animation (S.A.) is the process of reducing core body temperature by transfusing an individual's blood with a cold saline solution, effectively slowing metabolism to rates comparable to those of a legally dead person. This affords physicians upwards of an hour of operating time before further risk incurs. Because of its significance in medicine and recent approval for human testing, suspended animation has warranted a considerable amount of attention and criticism. For this reason, an anticipatory ethical analysis of suspended animation is necessary and will be performed from the perspective of multiple stakeholders, including doctors, engineers, and patients alike. Future applications of S.A. in regards to cryogenics and space travel will be hypothesized as well. This serves to elucidate any ethical dilemmas that may arise through application of suspended animation and in doing so, grant the public insight on this groundbreaking and potentially lifesaving methodology.