Re JS (Disposal of Body) [2016] EWHC 2859 (Fam)

March 2017 #167

JS, a 14-year-old, terminally ill girl wanted to pursue cryonic preservation: the speculative and controversial scientific theory of freezing a dead body in the hope that resuscitation and a cure may be possible in the distant future. JS’s parents disagreed about what should happen.

JS’s parents were divorced. For most of JS’s life she had lived with her mother (M) and had no face-to-face contact with her father (F), who was also suffering from cancer, since 2008. M and F had a very bad relationship. M supported JS’s wishes.

At the start of proceedin...