Donaldson v. Van de Kamp.

• Author: Griffith, Daniel B.
• Position: Premortem cryogenic suspension and assisted suicide

HELD: A person with an incurable brain disease, which will result in a persistent vegetative state and ultimately death, does not have a constitutional right to either premortem cryogenic suspension or a state-assisted suicide, nor does a third person have a constitutional right to aid, advise, or encourage such a suicide.

Thomas Donaldson is a mathematician and computer software scientist who suffers from an astrocytoma, or space-occupying lesion, in his brain that "continues to grow and invade brain tissue." Donaldson v. Van de Kamp, 4 Cal. Rptr. 2d 59, 60 (Cal. Ct. App. 1992). This tumor is malignant and inoperable, and doctors have predicted his death will occur within five years of the initial diagnosis. Id. at 60-61. Donaldson "wishes to achieve cryogenic suspension of his body, premortem, before his relentlessly advancing brain tumor destroys the quality and purpose of his life, reduces him to a vegetative state, and makes futile his hope for reanimation." Id. at 61. Carlos Mondragon, Donaldson's friend, would "advise and encourage" Donaldson during this "cryonic suspension process." Id.

The process of cryogenic suspension would involve the freezing of "Donaldson's body to be later reanimated when curative treatment exists for his brain cancer." Id. As a result of this process, Donaldson would suffer irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory function and of all brain function, which means he would be legally dead under California's statutory definition of death. Id. (citing CAL. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE sec. 7180 (West Supp. 1992)). Consequently, Donaldson would be committing a suicide, and Mondragon would be "committing a homicide, or alternatively, aiding and advising a suicide" if cryogenic suspension were achieved. Id.

Donaldson and Mondragon sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the state attorney general, the Santa Barbara district attorney, and the Santa Barbara county coroner. Id. They requested the trial court to find that Donaldson had "a constitutional right to premortem cryogenic suspension of his body and the assistance of others in achieving that state." Id. They sought injunctive relief "against criminal prosecution of Mondragon and others for participating in" the suspension process. Id. Finally, because an autopsy would "destroy his chance of reanimation," they sought injunctive relief to prevent the coroner from examining Donaldson's body after death. Id.

The trial court denied the plaintiffs'...