The Party of the First Part

[HawkerHurricane]

The Party of the First Part

Medical technology gets to the point where a person (whom we will call Eric Afabee) who was bisected in an accident, was sustained through heroic means, and healed (in that both parts of him were regenerated and restored to ...ahh..."normal" function). Then the lawyers for the various interested parties step in and argue the various positions.

Lawyer one (representing the numerous heirs to Eric's vast biotechnology fortune) argues that Eric died in the accident, and that the two new individuals do not constitute Eric as a legal individual, but are two new people, not Eric. HE also argues that these two new individuals are not legally of age anyway, and should be appointed guardians from their nearest blood relations.

Lawyer two (representing the surgeon who salvaged Eric's head and got verbal consent to transplant the head to another body that was available) argues that the part that contained the brain (or most of it) should be considered Eric as the brain has long been considered as the seat of the 'soul,' and that brain-death has also long been considered equivalent to death.

Lawyer three (representing the biomedical team that acquired Eric's body), restored and sustained it's vital functions, and, over time, its head) argues that Eric's lower body constituted the greater mass at the time of the unfortunate accident, should be recognized as most of Eric, and legally recognized as ERIC. Also, they point out that the Mrs Afabee (childless at the time of Eric's unfortunate mishap) had sperm extracted from the headless body, and conceived though artificial insemination.

The child has since been legally recognized as the only biological child of Eric Afabe, and the natural heir to the Afabee estate. Frau and baby Afabee have retained the counsel of lawyer four in their asertion that the child of his 'body' has prior claim over any more distant relations.

At no time during this process was Eric Afabee legally declared dead.

~samueldavidsson

(copyright 2005. All rights reserved)

You are the judge in this. What do you do?

[Spinzonner]

1. If Eric didn't have a legal separation from his body

isn't he still responsible for any progeny of the union ?