50 replies to this topic

[Bruce Klein]

For real time discussion, join the ImmInst Chat Room.

Source: http://alcor.org/legislativealert.html

March 10, 5:40 PM

To All Alcor Members and Supporters:

Up to this point, Alcor has negotiated in good faith with Representative Stump, attempting to draft legislation that would address his concerns for the protection of the citizens of Arizona as well as protect the rights of our members and patients. Mr. Stump has repeatedly delayed negotiations while working the legislature to gather votes to bring the bill to the house floor without our support. In open committee, Mr. Stump pledged to work with us to create statutory definitions for cryonics and to define the scope of oversight by the Funeral Board under a separate entity.

In good faith, we came together with the Arizona Funeral Board and reached agreement on the substance of the areas for which they oversight is required. Both Rudy Thomas and Randy Bunker attended our board meeting and confirmed that there were no substantial issues preventing us from executing an agreement without delay.

In spite of our conciliatory actions and assumption of good intentions on the part of Representative Stump, he has decided to move forward with a House vote on his bill TOMORROW (Thursday) without allowing the affected parties to complete negotiations. Apparently, it doesn’t matter to him that the primary parties impacted by this legislation agree that passing new law is unnecessary when an administrative solution can easily be achieved. Nor does it seem to matter to him that his bill is also strongly opposed by other organ donation groups, including the local Science Care, the Organ Donation Network, Life Legacy, and others. Furthermore, the University of Arizona, Midwestern University, and other academic organizations will be negatively impacted by this hasty legislation.

I have instructed Barry Aarons to cease attempting to engage Representative Stump and to implore every member of the House to vote against this bill. At this time, we are asking all of our supporters to contact each Representative in the House and urge them to vote against this bill. Remember, it is not just members of the Health Committee who need to be contacted, but EVERY REPRESENTATIVE IN THE HOUSE! Important: please use the BCC: field for these mailings, so that each legislator feels more of a sense of personal contact.

HERE IS CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE ARIZONA HOUSE

Once again, I have attached our talking points and a letter format for you to use. Please eMail, fax, and CALL each house member to urge them to VOTE NO ON HB 2637 (embalmers; funeral establishments; storing remains). Tell them your personal story and how this bill puts your life in jeopardy. TELL THEM THAT NEITHER ALCOR, THE FUNERAL BOARD, OR THE ORGAN DONATION NETWORK WANTS THIS BILL TO PASS!!! We believe the vote is tomorrow, Thursday, March 11th. You must act immediately if you are to have an impact.

Alcor tried to do the right thing. We accepted Representative Stump’s word that he wished to work out a solution. It was he who did not act in good faith, not Alcor. Your support is urgently needed to stop HB 2637 before it passes to the Senate and we have to begin negotiating anew. It’s time to show him that we mean business!

Joseph Waynick
CEO/President
Alcor Life Extension Foundation


http://www.alcor.org/


Joseph A. Waynick, CEO and President Alcor
http://www.alcor.org...ff.html#waynick

AZ HB 2637 Link: http://www.azleg.sta...2Ehtm&DocType=S

HB 2637 requires any entity that stores dead human bodies or remains for a period of more than five years to be licensed or registered under the Arizona State Funeral Board of Directors and Embalmers.  Additionally, HB 2637 prohibits any entity that charges a fee for receiving dead human bodies or remains from participating in the Arizona Anatomical Gift Act (AAGA).

For real time discussion, join the ImmInst Chat Room.

[odd1]

The contact info, in machine readable format.

aaguirre@azleg.state.az.us, jallen@azleg.state.az.us, malvarez@azleg.state.az.us, barnold@azleg.state.az.us, rbarnes@azleg.state.az.us, abiggs@azleg.state.az.us, tboone@azleg.state.az.us, dbradley@azleg.state.az.us, jburns@azleg.state.az.us, mbcahill@azleg.state.az.us, ebustama@azleg.state.az.us, ocajerob@azleg.state.az.us, tcarpent@azleg.state.az.us, jcarruth@azleg.state.az.us, cchase@azleg.state.az.us, kclark@azleg.state.az.us, tdowning@azleg.state.az.us, efarnswo@azleg.state.az.us, jflake@azleg.state.az.us, sgallard@azleg.state.az.us, rgraf@azleg.state.az.us, cdgray@azleg.state.az.us, lgray@azleg.state.az.us, dgullett@azleg.state.az.us, phanson@azleg.state.az.us, jhart@azleg.state.az.us, phershbe@azleg.state.az.us, chubbs@azleg.state.az.us, shuffman@azleg.state.az.us, jhuppent@azleg.state.az.us, jkjksnjr@azleg.state.az.us, cjayne@azleg.state.az.us, kjohnson@azleg.state.az.us, bkonopni@azleg.state.az.us, llandrum@azleg.state.az.us, laughter@azleg.state.az.us, plopes@azleg.state.az.us, llopez@azleg.state.az.us, jloredo@azleg.state.az.us, lmason@azleg.state.az.us, mmcclure@azleg.state.az.us, ddavis@azleg.state.az.us, rmeza@azleg.state.az.us, bmiranda@azleg.state.az.us, jnelson@azleg.state.az.us, wnichols@azleg.state.az.us, tohaller@azleg.state.az.us, rpearce@azleg.state.az.us, gpierce@azleg.state.az.us, tprezels@azleg.state.az.us, dquellan@azleg.state.az.us, mreagan@azleg.state.az.us, brobson@azleg.state.az.us, crosati@azleg.state.az.us, wstraugh@azleg.state.az.us, bstump@azleg.state.az.us, mthompso@azleg.state.az.us, stully@azleg.state.az.us, bwagner@azleg.state.az.us, syarbrou@azleg.state.az.us

417-3024, 417-3007, 417-3025, 417-3012, 417-3107, 417-3022, 417-3004, 417-3028, 417-3125, 417-3017, 417-3023, 417-3027, 417-3006, 417-3124, 417-3123, 417-3015, 417-3128, 417-3122, 417-3005, 417-3013, 417-3030, 417-3019, 417-3010, 417-3011, 417-3009, 417-3003, 417-3026, 417-3104, 417-3126, 417-3020, 417-3002, 417-3106, 417-3018, 417-3105, 417-3016, 417-3102, 417-3127, 417-3029, 417-3113, 417-3001, 417-3130, 417-3014, 417-3114, 417-3116, 417-3112, 417-3021, 417-3101, 417-3118, 417-3119, 417-3129, 417-3110, 417-3008, 417-3120, 417-3108, 417-3115, 417-3109, 417-3117, 417-3111, 417-3103, 417-3121

[sjvan]

We want to be firm, but respectful when contacting members of the legislature. This is not the time to piss them off! We know we are righteous; however, it’s not necessary to make enemies. We got the funeral board on our side, we got the organ donation network to oppose the bill. Let’s be smart. Mr. Stump’s actions have hurt him badly. We don’t want to fall into the same trap!

Please pass this message on.

Thank you for your support!

--jwCEO/PresidentAlcor Life Extension Foundation

[sjvan]

Are those phone numbers voice or fax?

[Bruce Klein]

Thanks Todd.. just sent the batch email to the 61 Reps.

For those who need help. Copy/paste the above emails into your email utility (be sure to change it to bcc:)

---

Feel free to cut and paste any of the following for your own email:

Dear Representative,

Thank you for serving the state of Arizona and for sacrificing a part of your life for the good of public service. While you may have already received numerous emails concerning HB 2637, I hope you consider the following before making your final decision.

I am affiliated with the following organizations:

1. Alcor Life Extension Foundation – Member, http://www.alcor.org
2. Immortality Institute – Chairman, http://www.imminst.org
3. World Transhumanist Association – Board Member, http://www.transhumanism.org

However, I contact you now only as a concerned individual.

HB 2637 is being represented as a consumer protection bill. Yet, Alcor is already regulated under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA).

I’m aquatinted with many of Alcor’s employees and members. All are good, concerned citizens. As an Alcor customer myself, I have been thoroughly impressed by their professionalism and openness. Alcor is a respectable scientific organization.

Thank you again for your consideration in voting down HB 2637 and in allowing Alcor to continue their scientific work in Arizona.

Warm Regards,
Bruce Klein

[odd1]

those are fax numbers.

[sjvan]

USE THIS AS A GUIDE ONLY. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE



Dear Members of the House of Representatives,

Alcor Life Extension Foundation urges you to vote NO on HB2637. This bill is a solution without a problem.

While we had hoped that the sponsor would provide amendments including appropriate definitions of cryonics and appropriate reference for registration of a cryonics establishment with the Funeral Board, those amendments were not forthcoming.

Even without any new legislation, even without the passage of HB2637, the Funeral Board and Alcor Life Extension Foundation have a verbal understanding that assures the Funeral Board will conduct oversight of Alcor's records to ensure that Alcor maintains the dignity of its patients. In turn, the Funeral Board has agreed to sign a non-disclosure statement which assures Alcor that it's patients records will be kept confidential.

The Funeral Board and Alcor have come to this decision amicably. There is no need for this legislation!

We urge you to vote NO on HB2637. This bill is a solution without a problem.

Respectfully,

Barry M. Aarons

The Aarons Company

[Bruce Klein]

For an examination of HB 2637, please see William O'Rights' (thefirstimmortal) post here: http://www.imminst.o...t=0

[sjvan]

Alcor News Special Edition

The legislative battle is heating up again, as Representative Stump has decided to move ahead in spite of his verbal and public assurances that negotiations would be completed prior to moving the bill forward. We've been involved with creating the statutory definitions for cryonics and the scope of regulatory oversight by the Funeral Board, and we've obtained agreements on the establishment of a specific cryonics license to ensure that no confusion exists within the funeral industry with regard to choices for final disposition. Though the Funeral Board and Alcor have reached an accord on these issues, Representative Stump has chosen to move forward with the legislation as it currently stands.

Once again, Stump moves with little warning to or discussion with the involved stakeholders; and HB 2637 will be heard on the House floor TOMORROW with the negotiations still incomplete. As a result, we are forced to register our strong opposition to this bill. We are not the only ones opposing this hasty and ill-conceived regulation, and we'll be joined by several educational institutions, the *entire* Arizona anatomical donor network, and members of the Health Committee who were expecting Stump to make good on his promises.

Though we're obviously disappointed at this development, we're well-positioned to ensure this bill dies in the House. We need your help to ensure our position is made clear to the legislators, and we ask that everyone take the time to email the House of Representatives, letting them know that this bill is one bad piece of legislation.

Some of you may have already received the previous version of the Talking Points we developed for the early stages of this process, but bear in mind that it no longer represents the current state of the arguments. Right now, the points that need to be made include:

* There is no statutory definition of cryonics.

* There are no provisions for becoming licensed as a cryonics establishment.

* The accord reached by Alcor and the Funeral Board eliminates the need for additional regulatory oversight at this time. This is a solution without a problem.

If you visit our website, you'll find a list of the fax and phone numbers, and below is a formatted version of the email addresses for all the Representatives; and we urge each of you to politely communicate a request that they vote against HB 2637.

Feel free to pass this message along to anyone who might help.

We thank you for your support.

Please place these addresses in the BCC field to ensure a more personal appeal. If your email bounces, break the address list into smaller groups.

aaguirre@azleg.state.az.us, jallen@azleg.state.az.us, malvarez@azleg.state.az.us, barnold@azleg.state.az.us, rbarnes@azleg.state.az.us, abiggs@azleg.state.az.us, tboone@azleg.state.az.us, dbradley@azleg.state.az.us, jburns@azleg.state.az.us, mbcahill@azleg.state.az.us, ebustama@azleg.state.az.us, ocajerob@azleg.state.az.us, tcarpent@azleg.state.az.us, jcarruth@azleg.state.az.us, cchase@azleg.state.az.us, kclark@azleg.state.az.us, tdowning@azleg.state.az.us, efarnswo@azleg.state.az.us, jflake@azleg.state.az.us, sgallard@azleg.state.az.us, rgraf@azleg.state.az.us, cdgray@azleg.state.az.us, lgray@azleg.state.az.us, dgullett@azleg.state.az.us, phanson@azleg.state.az.us, jhart@azleg.state.az.us, phershbe@azleg.state.az.us, chubbs@azleg.state.az.us, shuffman@azleg.state.az.us, jhuppent@azleg.state.az.us, jkjksnjr@azleg.state.az.us, cjayne@azleg.state.az.us, kjohnson@azleg.state.az.us, bkonopni@azleg.state.az.us, llandrum@azleg.state.az.us, laughter@azleg.state.az.us, plopes@azleg.state.az.us, llopez@azleg.state.az.us, jloredo@azleg.state.az.us, lmason@azleg.state.az.us, mmcclure@azleg.state.az.us, ddavis@azleg.state.az.us, rmeza@azleg.state.az.us, bmiranda@azleg.state.az.us, jnelson@azleg.state.az.us, wnichols@azleg.state.az.us, tohaller@azleg.state.az.us, rpearce@azleg.state.az.us, gpierce@azleg.state.az.us, tprezels@azleg.state.az.us, dquellan@azleg.state.az.us, mreagan@azleg.state.az.us, brobson@azleg.state.az.us, crosati@azleg.state.az.us, wstraugh@azleg.state.az.us, bstump@azleg.state.az.us, mthompso@azleg.state.az.us, stully@azleg.state.az.us, bwagner@azleg.state.az.us, syarbrou@azleg.state.az.us

[sjvan]

A tip to everyone...you might want to check your "Sent" mail to make sure that all the addresses went into the Bcc: line. I just checked mine, and a formating error meant most of them didn't go out when I thought they did. I corrected and resent.

[ocsrazor]

Hi Gang,

I just sent the following to the emails of all the Arizona Reps. Hope this helps.

Best,
Peter
>>>>>>>>>

Dear Representative,

As a neuroscientist and a client of Alcor Life Extension Foundation I have
been actively following the debate over HB 2637. I strongly urge you to vote
NO on HB 2637 should it come to a vote on the House floor. My reasons for
asking you to vote NO include the following:

-This is unnecessary legislation as Alcor is regulated under the Arizona
Anatomical Gift Act (AAGA) and the nationally recognized Uniform Anatomical
Gift Act (UAGA).

-In my experience Alcor is extremely well staffed, expert in their technical
knowledge, and maintains the highest possible ethical standards in their
operations. Additional state oversight would provide no benefit to their
clients or their client's families.

-There has never been a complaint lodged about the services of Alcor.

-I may in the future choose to work as a scientist at an academic institution
or privately held biomedical research company in the state of Arizona. The
research I do is considered to be leading edge for the entire world. My
future decision making (and the opinion I express to others in my field) in
deciding on settling and building a career in Arizona would be very negatively
impacted should HB 2637 be passed.

-If passed, HB 2637 will violate my right to freely choose my own method of
funerary rites. Alcor provides a unique service that requires a great deal of
technical skill not found anywhere else in the world.

-A funeral board is an inappropriate body to regulate a cryonics organization.
If any additional regulatory body were to be created, it should be staffed
exclusively by scientists and physicians, not embalmers. Funerary
professionals do not have the understanding or the skills to properly oversee
the activities of a cryonics organization.

Please do not support legislation such as HB 2637 which plays politics with
one of the most sacred choices a human being can make. As a concerned
scientist and consumer, I ask you to reject the passage of this unnecessary
and ill-conceived legislation.

Sincerely,
Peter A Passaro

ppassaro@neuro.gatech.edu
http://www.neuro.gatech.edu

Laboratory for Neuroengineering
Georgia Institue of Technology
Atlanta, Ga 30332

[Bruce Klein]

Looks great! Thanks Peter.

For those who may feel uneasy about sending a number of emails:

Contacting all of the Reps. is a efficient way to let them know helpful information about the Bill. It's also important to show that there is significant opposition.

Many Reps. use email lists to send information to their voters. Thus, we as voters have a duty to contact and inform our Reps.

Even if you don't live in AZ, you can still contact the Reps. Thanks.

[thefirstimmortal]

Hi Gang,

I just sent the following to the emails of all the Arizona Reps.  Hope this helps.

Best,
Peter

Peter A Passaro

Nice, well put together Peter. [thumb]

[thefirstimmortal]

A young boy attending his first baseball game asked his father, “How can the umpires tell a ball from a strike?” The father suggested that after the game the boy pose the question to the three umpires.

When the boy asked the first umpire, he responded, “I call them as I see them.” The second umpire answered, “I call them as they are.” But the third umpire stepped back and stared at the boy. “Son,” he said, “they ain’t nothing till I call them!”

[Ben Hijink]

Another example (not template)

Dear Representative,

Thank you for your public service to the state of Arizona and your constituents.

I am among many extremely concerned citizens who fear what will happen to Alcor should this bill - HB2637 - go through.

I have just been informed that Representative Stump has plans to bring this bill to the floor tomorrow after stalling negotions between Alcor and others that would have protected the citizens of Arizona AND protected the rights of those who wish to be cryogenically frozen, in order to collect votes to pass the bill.

According to Alcor, "Mr. Stump pledged to work with us to create statutory definitions for cryonics and to define the scope of oversight by the Funeral Board under a separate entity."

As a neurobiology student active in life extensionist and futurist organizations I am very frightened by the effect the passage this legislation will have on Alcor and its clients, as well as the precident it may set for intolerance and intrusion in other states.

PLEASE VOTE *NO* TO BILL *HB2637*


Thank you for your consideration,

Benjamin Patrick Hyink

[Ben Hijink]

It took me eight E-mails on yahoo and hotmail (yahoo refused to send my last two within the hour).

An easy way to do this is to paste all the representative addresses in your bcc section, highlight most of them, copy and delete those, send the message, then hit the back button, delete the last batch of E-mails, paste the remaining ones you copied and repeat the procedure.

Best,
Ben

[reason]

I was working late, and so didn't see all this until fairly recently. It's now up on the Longevity Meme and I posted it to Usenet...

Politicians. Grr.

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme
reason@longevitymeme.org
http://www.longevitymeme.org

[ag24]

Nuts to this Bcc nonsense -- mail them individually. It only took me 15 minutes.
Something with the person's name at the top will be far more powerful, plus you
can specifically tell Stump to withdraw the bill rather than vote against it.

What time is the hearing?

Here's my text:

Dear Rep. Aguirre,

I have just learned, to my very great surprise and consternation, that
the Arizona House of Representatives will be considering bill HB2637
(embalmers; funeral establishments; storing remains) today (Thursday).
I strongly urge you to vote "NO" to this bill, which is potentially a
desirable piece of legislation but which in it current form will do
untold harm to an industry that will play a huge part in the future
of humanity and in which Arizona enjoys a unique leadership position.
No other organisation in the world is remotely in Alcor's league in
terms of the ability to lower human tissues to very low temperature
without damage; hence, any legislation that hinders their work is a
blow to this technology worldwide, whereas legislation that assists
this industry by delineating appropriate regulation and oversight is
potentially of great benefit. Your vote today is therefore of huge
significance.

I am a research scientist working on the biology of mammalian aging
at the University of Cambridge in England. My specific focus is on
the development of techniques to repair and reverse the age-related
degenerative changes that accumulate during life and eventually kill
us. As you may recall, I travelled specially to Phoenix to testify
to the House Health Committee on this matter on February 26th and was
most gratified at the apparently universal appreciation by Committee
members of the importance of Alcor's work, not only for current Alcor
members but for the vast numbers of people who will undoubtedly opt
for cryonic suspension in the period -- which is not far away -- when
a genuine cure for aging is clearly foreseeable but not yet actually
available. Depending on the pace of progress by me and my fellow
gerontologists, you may well be among those people. If the pace is
slower, your children may be. Either way, the work that Alcor is
spearheading will very probably save tens of millions of lives. That
is not an exaggeration.

For your convenience, I will summarise here the reasons I gave to the
Health Committee why it is so imperative that Arizona get this piece
of legislation right. Alcor preserves people in a state that is very
similar, from a recoverability point of view, to someone who has been
immersed in cold water for several minutes to an hour and whose heart
has stopped for most of that time. Such people are clinically dead,
which means that they could have been pronounced legally dead, but in
fact they can in many cases be resuscitated. Thus, hundreds of people
are walking around today in perfect health who have at some time in
the past been clinically dead. Cryogenic preservation involves doing
a modest amount of further damage to someone who has recently become
clinically dead, but at the same time placing them in a state (very
low temperature) in which no further deterioration can occur. Thus,
in decades to come, when techniques to repair molecular and cellular
damage to all tissues (including the brain) have been developed by
me and my colleagues around the world, those same techniques will be
applicable to people in cryonic suspension. The tissue damage that
caused them to become clinically dead, plus the extra damage that was
associated with suspoension, will be reversed and the individual will
be restored to complete health.

It is therefore imperative that legislation which regulates cryonics
be drafted in a manner that reflects the fact that cryonic patients
are potentially resuscitatable, despite being clinically and legally
dead. In the first instance, the use of the term "remains" in many
places in the legislation is clearly unacceptable. "Remains" are
what human bodies become when they are incontrovertibly beyond the
reach of medical science, something which (as I have explained above)
is not the case for cryonics patients. Secondly, it is absolutely
essential that this legislation include a clear definition of what
cryonics is and an oversight structure that clearly distinguishes
cryonics from embalming and other purely cosmetic procedures that
are used to preserve (briefly) the appearance of bodies by actively
eliminating the possibility of resuscitation, including provisions
for becoming licensed as a cryonics provider. Third, the current
legislation ignores the fact that Alcor and the Funeral Board have
reached a clear accord with regard to the way in which cryonics
should and should not be regulated, which can undoubtedly be
translated into good legislation given the extra time that seemed,
on February 26th, to have been permitted.

In summary, I strongly urge you to vote against HB2637 in its current
inadequate form, and instead to work with the interested parties to
craft appropriate legislation that will bring credit to Arizona and
cement its leadership role in both the short-term (Kronos) and long
term (Alcor) scientific battle against the ravages of old age.

Best wishes,

Dr. Aubrey D.N.J. de Grey
Department of Genetics
University of Cambridge
Downing Street
Cambridge CB2 3EH
United Kingdom
+44 1223 366197

[sjvan]

Just got word that the House floor meeting starts at 1pm MST. There is still time to get out those emails, faxes, and phone calls.

[blally]

OK - just got on - at work and do not have time to email EVERY rep - is there a quick and easy way to mail them all at once? Greatly appreciated! [ang]

[Bruce Klein]

Blally, use your bcc: option and copy/paste the emails into your email program send bcc.
--
The Reps. are checking their emails [Time 10:47 MST]... thus their is still a little time.. I'm sending another one with some quick information:

Example:

--
Dear Valued Representative,

Please vote NO on HB2637. This bill is a solution without a problem.

Thanks for your consideration,
Bruce Klein

---
Reply received:

Thank you for your e-mail regarding HB2637. I am opposed to this bill for the reason that I feel this is an issue that could be resolved by the specific parties involved. Therefore, I don't feel state legislation is needed.

Thanks again,

Rep. John Nelson
jnelson@azleg.state.az.us

[Bruce Klein]

Seems the Reps. are starting to get the message... reply Received:
---

You will not be able to recieve this until later today because my computer is blocked. I cannot do any legislative business this morning. I have spent two hours trying to clear all the emails and still cannot send.

I understand your passion on this issue but PLEASE let your lobbyist do his job.
He has been communicating with us and a few emails are fine but please do not block us.

Rep. Cheryl Chase
cchase@azleg.state.az.us

[amcbride]

I just got this reply:
Thank you for your e-mail regarding HB2637. I am opposed to this bill for the reason that I feel this is an issue that could be resolved by the specific parties involved. Therefore, I don't feel state legislation is needed.
Thanks again,
Rep. John Nelson

I've got to agree. Less is more er better or whatever when it comes to legislation.
-Aaron

[mathewsullivan]

Alcor sincerely thanks its members for doing a great job contacting the Representatives of Arizona in opposition to HB2637. Apparently, as a result of our collective deluge, we have overwhelmed the system. Our numbers maybe low, but we have clearly made a statement to the Representatives of Arizona. At this point, we ask you to discontinue making phone calls or sending email and faxes, unless you hear otherwise from Alcor.
Thank you for you support,

Alcor Foundation

[blally]

Thanks for the Info. Tried to hit as many as possible. Here's my HASTILY written letter; I figured I'd address issues other than those probably more frequently mailed:

I was just informed that the House is to vote today on a bill concerning the oversight of Alcor and related facilities by the funeral board, and that such oversight may hinder their operations. I am opposed to any such legislation. As a researcher at the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, I am aware that body/organ donorship etc. are not subject to the regulations of the WV funeral board. If scientific/medical research employing donorship was to be regulated in such a way, the benefit to be accrued would be greatly hampered. It is my concern that regulation of facilities like Alcor, which serve as important entities within the field of biomedical research, may set a precedent deleterious to research and human health improvement. I strongly encourage you to not support any legislation that regulates Alcor and similar facilities in such a manner. Furthermore, people who have paid for such services are being greatly disserviced -- their freedom should not be limited just because they do not have a voice.

Sincerely, Brent E. Lally

[Bruce Klein]

Thanks Mathew,

I've updated ImmInst's homepage to reflect this Stop Action request.

Again, Please Stop Contacting Reps. - Thanks!

[Bruce Klein]

Reply:

I've received over 300 e-mails on HB 2637 today. I apologize in advance for the mass e-mail I am sending back, but I want to respond to each one of you.

I am opposed to this bill. I will be a NO vote. I do not believe in regulating small businesses and Alcor is no exception. More mandates on AZ businesses will hurt our economy. Thank you for your support and best of luck to each one of you. Rep. Michele Reagan

Michele Reagan
State Representative
District 8
Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and Rio Verde

[reason]

Please is misspelled on the home page.

Now how can we get the community to do this for regenerative medicine bills?

Reason
Founder, Longevity Meme
reason@longevitymeme.org
http://www.longevitymeme.org

[Bruce Klein]

7 PM MST

HB 2637 AZ passd a Mar 11 vote and looks to have moved forward in this round of the house hearings. More information on how we can help from Tanya below. However, from listening to the debate on the floor tonight, I was impressed by the intelligent and impassioned support by Rep. Lopez to vote down the bill.


Linda Lopez
Democrat District 29
Email Address: llopez at azleg.state.az.us
http://www.azleg.sta...sp?Member_ID=67

Rep. Lopez was a champion for Alcor during the House discussions. She asked and answered numerous question in favor of Alcor as a scientific organization trying to help its members.

Part of Lopez's AZ House Testomony Mar 11:

Downing: Madam Chair, Representative Lopez, if you perform a medical procedure on a body that is dead, isn't that normally called an autopsy?

Lopez: Madam Chair, under some circumstances it might be, but under the circumstances at Alcor this is called cryopreservation. I would just like to remind Mr. Downing that in the past there have been times when people were presented with some sort of information that they thought might be scientific fiction, that it would never come to pass. For instance I would say probably in 1940 if you told a doctor that they could transplant a heart, that someday they would be able to transplant a heart, or transplant the lungs or the liver, that they would have looked at you incredulously and thought, you've got to be living in some kind of, weird kind of space to think that this might ever happen. And for us to make judgment about the procedures that Alcor is using, in the name of science and research and for the betterment of humanity, I think that's very inappropriate. REF

[Bruce Klein]

Dear Rep. Lopez,

I listened to your house floor debate with Stump via
the Internet

You were wonderful!

Though the bill goes forward, you're efforts are warmly
appreciated.

Bruce Klein
Chairman, Immortality Institute ~ For Infinite Lifespans
http://www.imminst.org/bjklein

---

Thank you for your kind comments. I will continue to work this bill as it goes to 3rd read.

Linda J. Lopez
State Representative - District 29



-------
For those interested in helping Lopez in her reelection bid:

Out-of-state contributions are allowed, and there is a limit of $300 per person (whether in state or not). You must include your name, address, phone number, and profession. Alcor itself, of course, cannot contribute because of its 501©(3) status. [Nor can ImmInst, also a 501©(3) ~ bjk]

Linda's entire campaign budget last election was just under $10K. Her campaign kickoff was Feb. 28, 2004

Linda Lopez
Democrat District 29
House of Representatives
1700 W. Washington
Room 321
Phoenix, AZ 85007