Picket Fences (1992–1996): Season 2, Episode 21 - Frosted Flakes - full transcript
[Mr. Hutton] There's no hope?
[Jill] Well, there's always
hope, but, I won't lie to you.
When the leukemia comes back
post-transplant, it's terminal.
He's going to die?
That's my medical opinion, yes.
How long?
They're saying six months.
[inhales] They?
The oncologists,
the radiologists,
all the doctors
that we've been talking to.
- I'm sorry, I wish--
- Six months?
That's the longest?
Yes.
What's the shortest?
Um... It could be two or three.
[takes a deep breath]
Let's do this.
[sniffles]
Bobby, come on in.
Have a seat, son.
I'm gonna die.
The cancer's back.
I knew it.
[theme music]
All right, 10 minutes before the bell,
time for question of the day!
- Who has a question?
- [all students] Me!
- Ah, Bobby.
- Yes.
What happens when you die?
Ah, that's not a very fun
question, I don't think.
Well, I'd like to know
the answer, please.
Cause if you ask your parents
they make it sound like Disneyworld.
But I know
it couldn't be like that.
So, that's my question.
What really happens
when you die?
All right. Who'd like to
respond to Bobby's question?
Ah, Cynthia.
- God help us.
- Yes.
When you die... First, I'd like to say
that's an excellent question,
"the best one
we've had this week."
Next to mine, of course,
about Maxwell House coffee.
We still want to know,
what's wrong with that last drop?
Well, I think we agreed, Cynthia,
that that'll remain
one of life's darkest mysteries.
Now if you'd like
to address Bobby's question...
Yes. When you die, things happen
to the body and soul.
First, the body.
You get buried in your best suit,
'cause you want to look nice at the wake,
where everybody comes
to stare at you dead.
Then, after the funeral,
the maggots eat your flesh,
leaving nothing but bone.
This is why you're laid
on your side in the ground.
So, when you're nothing
but bone, your pants stay on.
Now, your soul goes to heaven
if you're good, to hell if you're bad.
There are a lot of different rules
when it comes to good or bad.
I only know two so far.
Don't ever smoke cigarettes.
And don't ever touch a penis.
- That's very bad.
- [children giggling]
Thank you for your in-depth
analysis, Cynthia.
- Now--
- I hadn't finished.
Well, you've given us
more than enough to ponder.
Let's go on now to another question,
we still have a few minutes.
- [all students] Me!
- Ah, Zachary.
How come grown-ups
never tell us the truth about death?
[all] Yeah! Why?
[children clamoring]
[door shuts]
[sighs] What's going on?
My clients went to see Carter,
then they came to see me.
Now we come to you.
Judge Bone's next.
Your clients?
[Carter] Jill, given
the condition of Bobby Hutton,
it might make sense to put him
into hypothermia now...
- ...before the disease--
- Carter!
There's been a lot of
recent progress in cryonics.
- It's conceivable that 10--
- There's no scientific evidence...
...that a person can be frozen
and then brought back to life.
I certainly hope that Dr. Pike
has not represented to you in any way--
All I've represented is that
it's a genetic possibility--
Dr. Pike!
Cryonics is a theory,
it isn't even close to reality.
I understand that, Jill.
But the reality is that Bobby
will be dead in six months.
We're not big fans of reality.
Well, first of all, its suicide.
- And, it's against the law.
- Leave the legals to me.
We're going to see Judge Bone.
I think we've got a shot,
and we want you to go with us.
- Why, what could I do?
- Well, you could admit as a doctor
of Western medicine...
...that life suspension
is a possibility in our future.
No, then get a cryonics expert.
I am not--
We already have seven.
The A.G.'s office
will have their experts too.
Judge Bone will eventually want
to hear from doctors he trusts.
That's Carter and you.
All you have to do
is admit that it's possible.
- No.
- Jill, what's the harm?
If it offers a fraction of hope,
then why not?
[sighs] I'm sorry, Julia,
but I will not walk into a courtroom
and ask Judge Bone
to put your son into a freezer.
- I will not do that.
- So what?
We should just stand by and watch
the leukemia run its course?
No, I told you.
I wanna start some transfusions,
I wanna start him on prednisone,
I wanna schedule some radiation,
I wanna maybe then
aspirate the bone marrow...
You said that it's fatal.
All you can do with medicine
is buy him six months.
Forget it, she's out.
We go in without her.
[door shuts]
[Henry] Talk to them
about death?
They're asking about it,
and I don't know what to say!
The "Bambi is in a better place"
routine doesn't work anymore.
Well, I just don't think we should
be filling the minds of nine year olds
with all this talk of dying!
Their minds
are already filled with it!
Kids obsess on it!
You can't pick up a newspaper
or hear the news without hearing
about somebody dying!
Look at these articles!
"Teenagers today are thinking more
"about their funeral
than their wedding day.
"Death and dying is
in the mindset of our youth
"and we have
got to deal with it."
Call Father Barrett.
He has a killer afterlife sermon.
I even plagiarized part of it
for Easter service.
They're still laughing at him
over the shoe business.
You're the minister,
you're on the school committee,
they should be hearing it
from you.
Have you completely
lost your mind?
Not completely, Judge.
You want a court order
allowing a child to be frozen?
To preserve him, till medical science
can one day cure his illness.
At which point
you plan to thaw him out.
Exactly. Leukemia could take Bobby Hutton,
that's a certainty.
Cryonics could save him,
that's a possibility.
We're asking the court
to favor the possibility of life
over the certainty of death.
Mr. Biel.
- Do you have a response?
- Actually, er, Your Honor.
It's difficult for me to even speak.
The last time
I was called to Rome
your hospital wanted to take the heart
of an Alzheimer's patient
and give it to somebody else.
You denied that request,
and since then, I've learned
that the gentleman with Alzheimer's
has been made, er,
the mayor of this community.
Now I've been dispatched again
because you're endeavoring
to turn a nine-year-old boy
into a science experiment.
Let's leave out the sarcasm, counsel,
- and address the--
- Actually...
...in this case, Your Honor,
I'd like my sarcasm to be on the record.
Judge, I admit that this is
a desperate measure.
Bobby Hutton, in fact,
is also desperate.
Well, if you want to freeze him
after he dies, fine.
- But I can't find any way--
- Then it'll be too late!
Leukemia will destroy his body.
His only chance is to be frozen now!
- There is a law--
- There's always a law, isn't there?
If cryonics can offer hope
to Bobby Hutton, let's give it to him.
Damn the law! This is wrong!
Cryonics does not offer him
any real hope.
- It has no chance--
- That's a question for the experts!
Let's hear from the experts.
Let's see if that hope exists.
10 o'clock tomorrow. I'll hear
from your doctors. Adjourned!
[bangs gavel]
- What's wrong with you?
- Excuse me?
Pumping up grieving parents
with cryonics?
- They came to me!
- You're a doctor.
You're subject to the Hippocratic Oath...
...the first rule being "Do no harm",
and you counsel suicide.
They asked me about cryonics,
I explained it, I did not recommend it.
I did not counsel suicide,
and your prejudices against
science aside,
don't you ever charge into my office again
attacking me as a doctor.
As a doctor,
you have a moral duty.
The Hippocratic Oath
is about survival, clinging to life.
That principle is
completely served by cryonics.
Oh, it's perverse,
it's against nature.
You want nature, Jill? Here.
[drawer rumbles]
That's death! That's perverse!
Skip the shock tactics, Carter.
Cryonics is
medical experimentation.
- The kid is dying!
- Because he's meant to die, Carter!
- We're not gonna change that.
- Maybe we can!
Oh, I'm not gonna sit back
while you and your ghouls
turn a nine-year-old kid
into an experiment for the science fair,
just so you can sit around the pool
bragging at your coroner's convention!
You self-righteous, arrogant,
narrow-minded bitch!
- [scoffs]
- That's right. I said it.
If you come up with a way
to save Bobby Hutton, I'll back off.
Until then, how dare you tell me
or anybody else not to try!
[Henry] By resurrection,
we don't really mean
the raising of the physical body.
It's spiritual.
That wasn't my question.
Does the soul float up
as soon as you die?
Or do you have to
go to a mortician first?
As soon as you die,
your soul goes
straight to heaven.
Can the soul go to hell?
Zach, we don't think of
heaven or hell as a physical place.
- Grown-up.
- [all kids mumbling] Grown-up.
- What's going on?
- All right, that's enough.
The kids don't trust
"grown-up" talk.
They think
you're hiding the truth.
We know there's hell
unless you're Jewish.
Especially if you smoke
cigarettes or touch penises.
My aunt did both!
[Henry] Well...
...kids, there's one rule
across the boards.
In all religions,
kids go to heaven, I mean...
you're not old enough
to go to hell!
Even Catholic hell, which you all know
has a much bigger occupancy.
Henry!
Sorry--
When a soul leaves the body,
can it ever come back?
I beg your pardon?
I'm supposed to die of leukemia.
So, my parents want
to freeze me instead.
- What?
- It's called cryonics.
They drain my blood
and put me in a frozen tub.
When they come up with a cure,
they defrost me and bring me back to life.
- Is he making that up?
- No.
His parents
are in court right now.
So, I gotta know,
will I be in heaven when I'm frozen?
And then, when they thaw me out,
will my soul come back to my body?
The technology for reanimation
is almost here.
Objection! This man has
no foundation in cryonics.
He's a medical doctor
who specializes in corpses,
and he does understand.
I want to hear
from a molecular biologist.
not a medical examiner.
- I'm not just a medical examiner, I--
- Quiet!
I want you to hear from Carter first.
My experts will back him up.
Well, let's cut to it.
How do you freeze somebody
and bring him back to living?
Okay, first of all, Judge,
we already do it to a lesser extent.
In operations, we put patients
into deep hypothermia sometimes,
usually to stop blood flow
during transplants.
- So it's already being done.
- Mm-hmm, for half an hour, maybe.
That's a little different than
freezing someone for 20 years.
Once the engineers develop
the genetic technology
to repair individual cells
in the body,
they'll be able to freeze people
and then reanimate them, years later.
And how long, Doctor,
before this technology exists.
Uh, there's no telling.
Genetic breakthroughs
are happening every day,
all over the world.
We thought we'd never be
able to cure leukemia,
but now, we could have
a cure in less than 10 years.
And at that point, you could hit
'Defrost" and bring Bobby Hutton back?
I know it sounds like voodoo,
but the day is coming
when we will be able
to revive frozen people,
maybe even 100 years later.
That may scare you.
It scares me,
but the day is coming.
[people clamoring]
Hold on, hold on! Quiet!
If you all talk at once, I can't separate
you from the voices in my head.
Sending a minister to talk
about death, it's outrageous.
They're small children!
Religion shouldn't be
in the schools, anyway.
All right, settle down.
I'll talk to the principal
and the minister.
But let me ask you, do you talk
to your children about death?
- [parents disagreeing]
- Well, don't you think you should?
[parents disagreeing further]
Well, if parents
don't discuss the subject,
maybe the school should!
- [parents arguing]
- It's the fourth grade!
Death is not
an appropriate subject.
My God, these are
innocent little children!
[Parent] They're just babies!
- [Zach] How should we kill him?
- [frog croaks]
We'll put him in the freezer.
That's how cryonics works.
Shouldn't we make him
unconscious first?
He'll be so cold.
Frogs are cold-blooded.
I don't think it'll bother him.
Okay.
- Bye, Ross. See you when you fall out.
- [croaks]
- Will he come back to life?
- He should. It works with fish.
[Zach] Bye, Ross.
- [clunking]
- [croaking frequently]
He sounds bad.
He's okay.
- [clunking]
- I think he wants out.
[croaking]
You know, I have to admit, at first
I thought this was ridiculous, but this...
...cryonic technology,
it could exist one day.
It really shouldn't be a surprise.
Years ago, if your heart stopped,
you were dead.
Now we can restart it,
and revive people from clinical death.
Even brain death
can be reversed, sometimes.
And I've been reading,
they're already, er,
freezing embryos,
and er, corneas,
heart valves, all of which
can be brought back to life?
And in 20 years, we might be able
to do that to a brain.
So, assuming that this
genetic progress continues,
we might actually be able
to cure not only leukemia,
but many other,
if not all diseases.
It's possible.
Huh. Well, what about aging?
Does the genetic potential exist
to reverse the aging process?
Hard to say, but, er...
...given the developments
in genetic technology,
no credible scientist
could really rule out the possibility.
You know, I got a real problem
with getting older, myself.
When I'm 50, I might want
to be frozen to, er,
wait for, I don't know,
the aging cure.
I would do that.
I don't wanna get old.
[scoffs] You know, Your Honor,
this is so exciting.
I'm gonna stipulate right now
as to all of the plaintiff's experts.
We don't have to waste the court's time
listening to scientists.
"I'm gonna stipulate that one day
cryonics will work,"
and we will have the cure
for leukemia, think about it.
People won't have to die
from disease,
nobody will have to die from old age,
if they don't want to,
everybody, in either real,
or suspended form,
will live forever.
Nobody has to die!
It's fantastic!
I mean,
if we can eliminate death,
the world will be a perfect place.
Right, Dr. Pike?
Right?
Look, in the interest
of public policy,
let's put, er,
let's put Bobby in the freezer.
Hm? Let's do it today.
Why won't you help him?
I want to help him, honey.
But I just don't think
that freezing him is help.
But if they invent a cure,
he could live longer.
It's not God's plan
for us to live like that.
To be stuck in liquid nitrogen
and then defrosted
umpteen years later,
that's not God's plan.
I know this is complicated.
But we're human beings, and,
when it's time to go,
there comes a point
when it's wrong to deny death.
Okay?
[footsteps]
- God's plan?
- What?
You wouldn't want the boy
frozen because of God?
No, I wouldn't want the boy frozen,
because that's effectively
assisting suicide...
- ...putting him in hypothermia--
- But you were willing to help...
...Howard Buss die, when he
wanted to give away his heart.
- You supported that idea.
- No, that's different.
Okay. Why?
Well, because that could work.
- Cryonics can't.
- If it could, would you say yes?
- [sighs] No, it's still perverted.
- Why?
Why?
Because he's trapped in nowhere...
I mean, frozen... What?
[sighs] Okay, if he had
taken Howard's heart, he would have died,
but he would have
surrendered to death.
Keeping a person frozen,
suspended, so that you
can bring him back,
he's neither in life or death...
- ...how can his spirit or his soul--
- What are you talking about?
I don't know.
I don't know.
But Jimmy, there's gotta be
some kind of afterlife, right?
And I think that this cryonics
voodoo would preempt that.
You'd be suspended
in nowhere, forever.
You wouldn't be in heaven,
and you wouldn't be on Earth.
You'd be nowhere.
That's gotta be worse than hell.
You really believe
in heaven and hell?
Well, don't you?
I believe in God.
I believe that all of us
have a spiritual thing inside.
But dead is dead.
When you're gone, you're gone.
How can you think that?
How can you, a doctor,
make a medical judgment
based on your belief in an afterlife?
I'm not doing that. I'm saying
that medical science has a boundary.
I don't know where the line is,
but cryonics is on the other side of it.
Uh-huh.
Well, I believe
everyone has a right
to their religious convictions.
But if my son gets ill,
if Zach contracts leukemia...
- ...and there is a cure--
- You would freeze him?
I don't know.
But I wouldn't say "Let him die.
"It's God's plan."
And I would like to think you wouldn't.
[clinks]
- I have an early appointment.
- Okay.
- Have a good day!
- You too.
- Bye.
- [clears throat]
[hairdryer whirring]
I don't want you telling them
about souls leaving bodies.
I don't want discussion
of heaven and hell.
Michael Oslo asked me
to speak to them.
Well, I'm telling you not to.
You too.
I haven't said anything.
It's only a matter of time.
But Michael Oslo was right
about one thing.
The kids think about death.
I'll make sure there's somebody
to talk to them,
but I want it to be secular, that's all.
Thank you!
- Howard, we're in your office. We--
- [door shuts]
Well, never mind.
Do you hear what's happening
about this Hutton boy?
It's grotesque--
Gary, we may have to speak up.
If Judge Bone even thinks
about granting that motion--
- Then we get involved.
- Oh...listen.
You picked a fine time to get caught
with your Imdela Marcos collection.
Now, don't you start.
The problem is we don't
have any real credibility
on this afterlife issue.
Oh, we can preach all we want,
but they know,
in the end, we're just guessing.
Like everybody else.
I don't wanna die,
but according to the doctors,
I guess I'm gonna.
Must be scary to think of getting stuck
in an icebox, though.
But I'm more scared
of being dead forever.
- Why?
- Well...
...even if heaven is a great place,
I won't know anybody.
Everybody I know, they're all alive.
Except my grandfather,
but my mom
doesn't think he got in.
[Wambaugh] Are you afraid
of being alone?
When somebody dies,
we all get sad, 'cause he's gone,
and 'cause we'll miss him.
But, for that person who dies,
it's worse.
He loses everybody.
He has to miss everybody,
all at once.
I wanna keep living some more.
I'd like to try cryonics.
Thank you, Bobby.
Your witness.
I don't know much about heaven,
but they say
that you can still
sort of see people down here on Earth.
Have you ever heard that?
Yes, but they can't see you.
Is that important?
- Yes.
- Why?
Cause my parents,
they won't be able to see me,
to them I'll be completely gone.
Do you think about
how sad your parents will be
if you die?
Yes.
Do you worry about them
being sad?
Yes.
Bobby, I know that these are--
...they're very tough questions,
but I need you to really concentrate,
because the truth--
-it's very important.
Is one of the reasons
that you wanna be frozen,
is it because you're worried
about your parents?
Yes.
Yeah. And if you had to
make a guess,
what would you say
upsets you more?
Dying, or making your parents sad?
Hmm, making them sad.
And the idea of cryonics,
of being frozen,
whose idea was that?
Mom and Dad's.
[Biel] I see. Thank you.
You're a very brave young man.
I have no further questions,
Your Honor.
You want me to talk
to the fourth grade?
You're a psychic. You're on speaking terms
with dead people.
The kids will listen
to what you say.
Have Kenny talk to them,
he's been there.
- Ginny!
- What do you mean he's been there?
Nothing. You got a big mouth,
you know that, Ginny?
- Talk to the kids.
- Have you been dead before?
[phone rings]
I must be sundowning again.
- What was that about?
- Nothing.
Well, what did Ginny mean
when she said you've been there?
Last year when I was shot...
Remember when the Frogman's kid
put a bullet next to my heart?
When they were operating,
for about five seconds or so, I...
I was suddenly above the table
looking down at my body,
watching Jill reach for the bullet.
[sighs] Well, that could
have been a hallucination.
That's what I thought.
I asked Jill.
I asked her what she did,
everything that happened.
She described exactly
what I saw.
And I was completely unconscious
at the time.
I think I was dead.
And I came back.
I was up late last night, Your Honor,
working on this this case.
And I couldn't help but think
what a terrible judge you are.
A judge should
always follow the law,
and be above all, consistent.
A lawyer should know what to expect
when he walks into his courtroom.
The killing done a year ago,
you ruled that suicide fell
within the right to privacy,
and you held that
assisting suicide was legal.
Well, with Howard Buss
you suddenly say,
"assisting his suicide is wrong."
You're not consistent.
A lawyer cannot rely
on your rulings, and that's why
you'll never make it
to the Supreme Court.
I'm crushed.
The judges that do
make it to the top.
They worry about precedent,
and how their rulings
will affect the next case.
The trouble with you is
you worry too much
about the actual case in front of you.
Well, right in front of you
today is Bobby Hutton.
He wants to grow up
to play baseball for the Cubs.
He wants to grow up to get married.
He wants to grow up.
The odds are, he won't.
His only hope is this thing
called cryonics.
It's a long shot,
nobody is kidding anybody,
but to Bobby Hutton,
this long shot is everything.
It's all he's got.
I know most judges
will look at the big picture,
and deny the court order.
Well, they have to, of course.
But we're appearing before you.
There's a brave little boy here,
who's dying.
I hope for his sake
that you'll never make it
to the Supreme Court.
Every human being,
when born onto this earth, is blessed
with one thing in common.
A lifetime.
It could be 100 years if you're lucky,
10 minutes if you're not.
It appears
that Bobby Hutton's lifetime
will be about 10 years.
It's a tragedy
that it could be cut so short.
Sitting in a room
with this young man,
how could any of us not be
moved, touched by his, er,
his spirit,
his vitality,
and his dignity.
You don't often think
of nine-year-olds having dignity,
but this young man does.
How unfair that his,
his lifetime could be cut so short.
But unlike in a courtroom,
the laws of nature are, er,
they're very arbitrary.
They strike quickly, often
with no apparent connection to fairness,
and, there's usually no appeal.
Everybody in this room
desperately wants to believe in cryonics.
If it'll give Bobby life,
then damn it, let it be true.
But we all know better.
Despite the microscopic hope
that Mr. Wambaugh speaks of,
we know that once
we freeze this boy
to the extent his organs
no longer function,
he will be dead.
Dead forever.
That's not just a likely scenario,
it is as close to a certainty
as we can get.
And it's a tragedy.
But more tragic still,
would be to take a lifetime,
that is already
limited to 10 years,
and chop off six months.
Life is...
It is so very precious.
Especially his.
He has a day.
And another day after that,
and a whole week after that.
Then another week, and another.
He has six whole months,
to be with his family,
to love them,
to be loved.
Six months
for Bobby Hutton,
that is his lifetime.
How dare we,
in the name of science,
in the name of progress,
and most of all,
in the name of God, how dare we
take that away from him?
It was reckless disregard
for life.
I'm surprised at both of you.
How do you think he felt?
- Cold?
- It was cruel,
and so was shellacking him...
...that's very disrespectful.
- It was a tribute.
- A tribute?
Well, I'm sure he'd be so honored
if only you hadn't murdered him!
We thought if we could
freeze him and thaw him out,
we'd learn stuff that'd
help all frog kind.
Well, I think the way
to help frog kind
is to show a little respect
for each frog's life!
That's Ross.
We asked for volunteers.
He jumped.
[sighs]
[Bailiff] All rise!
Be seated.
Every so often,
a judge gets a case where the law
doesn't really help him at all.
I find myself not interpreting
rules or statutes,
but rather, gauging,
then trying to reflect
the values of the community.
But on this one,
I'm going to do something
I've never done before.
Not that it will control my ruling,
but, since I have a decent
cross-section of society in this room,
I'm going to ask for a show of hands.
For my own education.
How many here think Bobby Hutton
should be permitted
to be frozen, if that is his wish,
please raise your hands.
And how many
find the notion offensive?
All right.
Thank you.
Excuse me, Your Honor.
With the court's permission,
I'd like to say what I find offensive.
It's the fallacy
that people in this country
have a right to privacy
and self-determination.
It's a big lie!
What's your problem, Howard?
My problem is they say freedom
means nothing left to lose.
Well, that boy is terminal.
He has almost nothing left to lose,
and he's still not free
to take whatever measures
he wants to save his life.
Even when those measures
threaten nobody but himself.
If we want to risk death
to save our lives,
how dare any court
presume to tell us, "No"?
Women can have abortions
because you say
it's their body,
therefore, their right.
Why can't the sick and the elderly
get the same courtesy?
We're the ones who are dying.
Why the hell should we have to come
in here and ask your permission
to try whatever we've
got left to try?
You grant us the right to linger,
the right to suffer.
Every other prerogative
goes to society.
I'm sick of it!
That boy's life is on the line
and you ask for a show of hands?
I'm sick of the lawyers
and the judges,
I'm sick of the courts,
and right now,
I'm especially sick of you!
I'd like to lay that little diatribe
on your all-timer's Howard,
but I won't.
I know I have that coming.
Excuse me!
- As long as we're opening up the forum--
- We're not!
But Howard got to have his say.
Maybe there's another sentiment
that needs expressing.
You want your cross-section
of society or not?
30 seconds. Go.
This "right to die" thing,
has mushroomed
out of all proportion.
You know, it's a different
thing to refuse
extraordinary life-saving means,
and being put to death.
I think that point's
already been made, Henry.
Well, I haven't heard
anybody make the point
that death is a natural process.
We're human organisms.
We're put on this earth
with mortality.
And medicine should not be used
to pervert that.
I'm sorry, I have to respond.
- Hold on!
- One thing, Judge. One point.
There will always be new diseases.
20 years ago, we didn't have AIDS.
There will always be
new plagues.
Doctors should try to cure
whatever they can.
If it's leukemia today,
fine, cure leukemia.
Nature and medicine
will always battle.
We shouldn't be deciding
what kind of mortality is natural--
- Now, now, wait a minute!
- [Man] Here we go!
I haven't finished!
- [banging the gavel]
- [all the men yelling]
Stop talking, please!
Hey!
We're trying
to save one life here, okay?
I don't give a damn about the...
...societal ramifications
or the religious,
philosophical consequences.
I don't want to lose my son!
Why can't it just be about that?
Huh?
He doesn't wanna die.
What the hell are you
people all doing here?
Leave us alone!
Just leave us alone.
We'll adjourn for one hour.
I will then make my ruling.
[bangs gavel]
[Bailiff] All rise!
Same as before,
your rate's way up.
That little tantrum in court
didn't help.
Forgive me for having an opinion.
A person with Alzheimer's
should know better
than to have a point of view,
only we don't know better
because we have Alzheimer's, catch 22.
I should probably go home
and hug my teddy bear.
- You're angry.
- Damn right I'm angry.
That boy should be allowed
to be frozen if he wants.
Maybe I should try it too.
What can doctors do for me,
except take my pulse?
Well, one thing doctors
shouldn't do is play God.
When a child of nine
gets leukemia,
or when somebody
gets Alzheimer's,
maybe God isn't playing God,
maybe the genetic experts
should get a chance.
In that case, you'd be dead.
I'm not afraid of death.
I'm afraid of dying.
You're not afraid of death?
Are you?
I don't think much about it.
I'm terrified of it.
Why?
[inhales] I don't know.
What if there isn't a heaven
or an afterlife?
[sighs] What if this is
all there is, and...
...[sighs] the only thing
on the other side is darkness?
You'd be all alone.
100,000 years, and that's just
the beginning of eternity.
You'd be all alone in the darkness,
for ever and ever and ever.
Maybe we created the idea
of heaven and hell, because,
nothingness, that's worse.
I'm terrified of death.
[children all chattering]
I represent
the three comatose vegetables,
the potato man,
now a would-be popsicle.
The metaphor for life is food.
Do you see?
- Yeah.
- Food...
...and life, like food,
can sometimes last longer
with a little refrigeration.
"God works in mysterious ways."
I live by this.
- Yeah, I can see that.
- Judge is back. Let's go.
[Bailiff] Be seated.
As I said before,
the law gives me
little guidance on this one.
The problem is,
the boundaries of medicine
are so rapidly changing,
the law can't keep up.
How can I rely on legal precedents
which were made
with no comprehension
of today's technology.
We're learning how to clone people.
Already the technology is here
for parents to go in
and choose the sex of their child.
Someday, we'll able to select
eye color, and height.
One day, we'll have the ability
to make carbon copy people.
And I'm sure,
when that day gets close,
the law will jump in to legislate,
just like it's jumping in today
over cryonics.
The Attorney General says
we can't induce a boy's death.
The parents argue we're
trying to prolong life.
It all comes down
to definitions and rules
where medicine and law
don't agree.
But, what it finally,
finally comes down to,
is the judge.
Me.
Despite the robe
and the impressive setting,
Mr. and Mrs. Hutton,
beneath the veil,
I'm a human being.
And as a human being,
it isn't in me to allow your son
to be frozen to death.
It doesn't seem right.
I'd like to say
I'm governed by a legal mandate.
I'm not.
I'd like to say
I don't have a choice,
I do.
But, my choice is
not to induce his death for any reason.
If he has six months,
then he has six months.
Like Mr. Biel says,
that makes his time more precious.
And we shouldn't
shorten it further.
Bobby...
I hope you understand,
but I'm not asking you to.
I...
You're an extraordinary young man.
I'll pray for you.
I'll pray for all of us.
Plaintiff's motion denied.
[bangs gavel]
[soft music playing]
[soft chatter]
[theme music playing]
[Jill] Well, there's always
hope, but, I won't lie to you.
When the leukemia comes back
post-transplant, it's terminal.
He's going to die?
That's my medical opinion, yes.
How long?
They're saying six months.
[inhales] They?
The oncologists,
the radiologists,
all the doctors
that we've been talking to.
- I'm sorry, I wish--
- Six months?
That's the longest?
Yes.
What's the shortest?
Um... It could be two or three.
[takes a deep breath]
Let's do this.
[sniffles]
Bobby, come on in.
Have a seat, son.
I'm gonna die.
The cancer's back.
I knew it.
[theme music]
All right, 10 minutes before the bell,
time for question of the day!
- Who has a question?
- [all students] Me!
- Ah, Bobby.
- Yes.
What happens when you die?
Ah, that's not a very fun
question, I don't think.
Well, I'd like to know
the answer, please.
Cause if you ask your parents
they make it sound like Disneyworld.
But I know
it couldn't be like that.
So, that's my question.
What really happens
when you die?
All right. Who'd like to
respond to Bobby's question?
Ah, Cynthia.
- God help us.
- Yes.
When you die... First, I'd like to say
that's an excellent question,
"the best one
we've had this week."
Next to mine, of course,
about Maxwell House coffee.
We still want to know,
what's wrong with that last drop?
Well, I think we agreed, Cynthia,
that that'll remain
one of life's darkest mysteries.
Now if you'd like
to address Bobby's question...
Yes. When you die, things happen
to the body and soul.
First, the body.
You get buried in your best suit,
'cause you want to look nice at the wake,
where everybody comes
to stare at you dead.
Then, after the funeral,
the maggots eat your flesh,
leaving nothing but bone.
This is why you're laid
on your side in the ground.
So, when you're nothing
but bone, your pants stay on.
Now, your soul goes to heaven
if you're good, to hell if you're bad.
There are a lot of different rules
when it comes to good or bad.
I only know two so far.
Don't ever smoke cigarettes.
And don't ever touch a penis.
- That's very bad.
- [children giggling]
Thank you for your in-depth
analysis, Cynthia.
- Now--
- I hadn't finished.
Well, you've given us
more than enough to ponder.
Let's go on now to another question,
we still have a few minutes.
- [all students] Me!
- Ah, Zachary.
How come grown-ups
never tell us the truth about death?
[all] Yeah! Why?
[children clamoring]
[door shuts]
[sighs] What's going on?
My clients went to see Carter,
then they came to see me.
Now we come to you.
Judge Bone's next.
Your clients?
[Carter] Jill, given
the condition of Bobby Hutton,
it might make sense to put him
into hypothermia now...
- ...before the disease--
- Carter!
There's been a lot of
recent progress in cryonics.
- It's conceivable that 10--
- There's no scientific evidence...
...that a person can be frozen
and then brought back to life.
I certainly hope that Dr. Pike
has not represented to you in any way--
All I've represented is that
it's a genetic possibility--
Dr. Pike!
Cryonics is a theory,
it isn't even close to reality.
I understand that, Jill.
But the reality is that Bobby
will be dead in six months.
We're not big fans of reality.
Well, first of all, its suicide.
- And, it's against the law.
- Leave the legals to me.
We're going to see Judge Bone.
I think we've got a shot,
and we want you to go with us.
- Why, what could I do?
- Well, you could admit as a doctor
of Western medicine...
...that life suspension
is a possibility in our future.
No, then get a cryonics expert.
I am not--
We already have seven.
The A.G.'s office
will have their experts too.
Judge Bone will eventually want
to hear from doctors he trusts.
That's Carter and you.
All you have to do
is admit that it's possible.
- No.
- Jill, what's the harm?
If it offers a fraction of hope,
then why not?
[sighs] I'm sorry, Julia,
but I will not walk into a courtroom
and ask Judge Bone
to put your son into a freezer.
- I will not do that.
- So what?
We should just stand by and watch
the leukemia run its course?
No, I told you.
I wanna start some transfusions,
I wanna start him on prednisone,
I wanna schedule some radiation,
I wanna maybe then
aspirate the bone marrow...
You said that it's fatal.
All you can do with medicine
is buy him six months.
Forget it, she's out.
We go in without her.
[door shuts]
[Henry] Talk to them
about death?
They're asking about it,
and I don't know what to say!
The "Bambi is in a better place"
routine doesn't work anymore.
Well, I just don't think we should
be filling the minds of nine year olds
with all this talk of dying!
Their minds
are already filled with it!
Kids obsess on it!
You can't pick up a newspaper
or hear the news without hearing
about somebody dying!
Look at these articles!
"Teenagers today are thinking more
"about their funeral
than their wedding day.
"Death and dying is
in the mindset of our youth
"and we have
got to deal with it."
Call Father Barrett.
He has a killer afterlife sermon.
I even plagiarized part of it
for Easter service.
They're still laughing at him
over the shoe business.
You're the minister,
you're on the school committee,
they should be hearing it
from you.
Have you completely
lost your mind?
Not completely, Judge.
You want a court order
allowing a child to be frozen?
To preserve him, till medical science
can one day cure his illness.
At which point
you plan to thaw him out.
Exactly. Leukemia could take Bobby Hutton,
that's a certainty.
Cryonics could save him,
that's a possibility.
We're asking the court
to favor the possibility of life
over the certainty of death.
Mr. Biel.
- Do you have a response?
- Actually, er, Your Honor.
It's difficult for me to even speak.
The last time
I was called to Rome
your hospital wanted to take the heart
of an Alzheimer's patient
and give it to somebody else.
You denied that request,
and since then, I've learned
that the gentleman with Alzheimer's
has been made, er,
the mayor of this community.
Now I've been dispatched again
because you're endeavoring
to turn a nine-year-old boy
into a science experiment.
Let's leave out the sarcasm, counsel,
- and address the--
- Actually...
...in this case, Your Honor,
I'd like my sarcasm to be on the record.
Judge, I admit that this is
a desperate measure.
Bobby Hutton, in fact,
is also desperate.
Well, if you want to freeze him
after he dies, fine.
- But I can't find any way--
- Then it'll be too late!
Leukemia will destroy his body.
His only chance is to be frozen now!
- There is a law--
- There's always a law, isn't there?
If cryonics can offer hope
to Bobby Hutton, let's give it to him.
Damn the law! This is wrong!
Cryonics does not offer him
any real hope.
- It has no chance--
- That's a question for the experts!
Let's hear from the experts.
Let's see if that hope exists.
10 o'clock tomorrow. I'll hear
from your doctors. Adjourned!
[bangs gavel]
- What's wrong with you?
- Excuse me?
Pumping up grieving parents
with cryonics?
- They came to me!
- You're a doctor.
You're subject to the Hippocratic Oath...
...the first rule being "Do no harm",
and you counsel suicide.
They asked me about cryonics,
I explained it, I did not recommend it.
I did not counsel suicide,
and your prejudices against
science aside,
don't you ever charge into my office again
attacking me as a doctor.
As a doctor,
you have a moral duty.
The Hippocratic Oath
is about survival, clinging to life.
That principle is
completely served by cryonics.
Oh, it's perverse,
it's against nature.
You want nature, Jill? Here.
[drawer rumbles]
That's death! That's perverse!
Skip the shock tactics, Carter.
Cryonics is
medical experimentation.
- The kid is dying!
- Because he's meant to die, Carter!
- We're not gonna change that.
- Maybe we can!
Oh, I'm not gonna sit back
while you and your ghouls
turn a nine-year-old kid
into an experiment for the science fair,
just so you can sit around the pool
bragging at your coroner's convention!
You self-righteous, arrogant,
narrow-minded bitch!
- [scoffs]
- That's right. I said it.
If you come up with a way
to save Bobby Hutton, I'll back off.
Until then, how dare you tell me
or anybody else not to try!
[Henry] By resurrection,
we don't really mean
the raising of the physical body.
It's spiritual.
That wasn't my question.
Does the soul float up
as soon as you die?
Or do you have to
go to a mortician first?
As soon as you die,
your soul goes
straight to heaven.
Can the soul go to hell?
Zach, we don't think of
heaven or hell as a physical place.
- Grown-up.
- [all kids mumbling] Grown-up.
- What's going on?
- All right, that's enough.
The kids don't trust
"grown-up" talk.
They think
you're hiding the truth.
We know there's hell
unless you're Jewish.
Especially if you smoke
cigarettes or touch penises.
My aunt did both!
[Henry] Well...
...kids, there's one rule
across the boards.
In all religions,
kids go to heaven, I mean...
you're not old enough
to go to hell!
Even Catholic hell, which you all know
has a much bigger occupancy.
Henry!
Sorry--
When a soul leaves the body,
can it ever come back?
I beg your pardon?
I'm supposed to die of leukemia.
So, my parents want
to freeze me instead.
- What?
- It's called cryonics.
They drain my blood
and put me in a frozen tub.
When they come up with a cure,
they defrost me and bring me back to life.
- Is he making that up?
- No.
His parents
are in court right now.
So, I gotta know,
will I be in heaven when I'm frozen?
And then, when they thaw me out,
will my soul come back to my body?
The technology for reanimation
is almost here.
Objection! This man has
no foundation in cryonics.
He's a medical doctor
who specializes in corpses,
and he does understand.
I want to hear
from a molecular biologist.
not a medical examiner.
- I'm not just a medical examiner, I--
- Quiet!
I want you to hear from Carter first.
My experts will back him up.
Well, let's cut to it.
How do you freeze somebody
and bring him back to living?
Okay, first of all, Judge,
we already do it to a lesser extent.
In operations, we put patients
into deep hypothermia sometimes,
usually to stop blood flow
during transplants.
- So it's already being done.
- Mm-hmm, for half an hour, maybe.
That's a little different than
freezing someone for 20 years.
Once the engineers develop
the genetic technology
to repair individual cells
in the body,
they'll be able to freeze people
and then reanimate them, years later.
And how long, Doctor,
before this technology exists.
Uh, there's no telling.
Genetic breakthroughs
are happening every day,
all over the world.
We thought we'd never be
able to cure leukemia,
but now, we could have
a cure in less than 10 years.
And at that point, you could hit
'Defrost" and bring Bobby Hutton back?
I know it sounds like voodoo,
but the day is coming
when we will be able
to revive frozen people,
maybe even 100 years later.
That may scare you.
It scares me,
but the day is coming.
[people clamoring]
Hold on, hold on! Quiet!
If you all talk at once, I can't separate
you from the voices in my head.
Sending a minister to talk
about death, it's outrageous.
They're small children!
Religion shouldn't be
in the schools, anyway.
All right, settle down.
I'll talk to the principal
and the minister.
But let me ask you, do you talk
to your children about death?
- [parents disagreeing]
- Well, don't you think you should?
[parents disagreeing further]
Well, if parents
don't discuss the subject,
maybe the school should!
- [parents arguing]
- It's the fourth grade!
Death is not
an appropriate subject.
My God, these are
innocent little children!
[Parent] They're just babies!
- [Zach] How should we kill him?
- [frog croaks]
We'll put him in the freezer.
That's how cryonics works.
Shouldn't we make him
unconscious first?
He'll be so cold.
Frogs are cold-blooded.
I don't think it'll bother him.
Okay.
- Bye, Ross. See you when you fall out.
- [croaks]
- Will he come back to life?
- He should. It works with fish.
[Zach] Bye, Ross.
- [clunking]
- [croaking frequently]
He sounds bad.
He's okay.
- [clunking]
- I think he wants out.
[croaking]
You know, I have to admit, at first
I thought this was ridiculous, but this...
...cryonic technology,
it could exist one day.
It really shouldn't be a surprise.
Years ago, if your heart stopped,
you were dead.
Now we can restart it,
and revive people from clinical death.
Even brain death
can be reversed, sometimes.
And I've been reading,
they're already, er,
freezing embryos,
and er, corneas,
heart valves, all of which
can be brought back to life?
And in 20 years, we might be able
to do that to a brain.
So, assuming that this
genetic progress continues,
we might actually be able
to cure not only leukemia,
but many other,
if not all diseases.
It's possible.
Huh. Well, what about aging?
Does the genetic potential exist
to reverse the aging process?
Hard to say, but, er...
...given the developments
in genetic technology,
no credible scientist
could really rule out the possibility.
You know, I got a real problem
with getting older, myself.
When I'm 50, I might want
to be frozen to, er,
wait for, I don't know,
the aging cure.
I would do that.
I don't wanna get old.
[scoffs] You know, Your Honor,
this is so exciting.
I'm gonna stipulate right now
as to all of the plaintiff's experts.
We don't have to waste the court's time
listening to scientists.
"I'm gonna stipulate that one day
cryonics will work,"
and we will have the cure
for leukemia, think about it.
People won't have to die
from disease,
nobody will have to die from old age,
if they don't want to,
everybody, in either real,
or suspended form,
will live forever.
Nobody has to die!
It's fantastic!
I mean,
if we can eliminate death,
the world will be a perfect place.
Right, Dr. Pike?
Right?
Look, in the interest
of public policy,
let's put, er,
let's put Bobby in the freezer.
Hm? Let's do it today.
Why won't you help him?
I want to help him, honey.
But I just don't think
that freezing him is help.
But if they invent a cure,
he could live longer.
It's not God's plan
for us to live like that.
To be stuck in liquid nitrogen
and then defrosted
umpteen years later,
that's not God's plan.
I know this is complicated.
But we're human beings, and,
when it's time to go,
there comes a point
when it's wrong to deny death.
Okay?
[footsteps]
- God's plan?
- What?
You wouldn't want the boy
frozen because of God?
No, I wouldn't want the boy frozen,
because that's effectively
assisting suicide...
- ...putting him in hypothermia--
- But you were willing to help...
...Howard Buss die, when he
wanted to give away his heart.
- You supported that idea.
- No, that's different.
Okay. Why?
Well, because that could work.
- Cryonics can't.
- If it could, would you say yes?
- [sighs] No, it's still perverted.
- Why?
Why?
Because he's trapped in nowhere...
I mean, frozen... What?
[sighs] Okay, if he had
taken Howard's heart, he would have died,
but he would have
surrendered to death.
Keeping a person frozen,
suspended, so that you
can bring him back,
he's neither in life or death...
- ...how can his spirit or his soul--
- What are you talking about?
I don't know.
I don't know.
But Jimmy, there's gotta be
some kind of afterlife, right?
And I think that this cryonics
voodoo would preempt that.
You'd be suspended
in nowhere, forever.
You wouldn't be in heaven,
and you wouldn't be on Earth.
You'd be nowhere.
That's gotta be worse than hell.
You really believe
in heaven and hell?
Well, don't you?
I believe in God.
I believe that all of us
have a spiritual thing inside.
But dead is dead.
When you're gone, you're gone.
How can you think that?
How can you, a doctor,
make a medical judgment
based on your belief in an afterlife?
I'm not doing that. I'm saying
that medical science has a boundary.
I don't know where the line is,
but cryonics is on the other side of it.
Uh-huh.
Well, I believe
everyone has a right
to their religious convictions.
But if my son gets ill,
if Zach contracts leukemia...
- ...and there is a cure--
- You would freeze him?
I don't know.
But I wouldn't say "Let him die.
"It's God's plan."
And I would like to think you wouldn't.
[clinks]
- I have an early appointment.
- Okay.
- Have a good day!
- You too.
- Bye.
- [clears throat]
[hairdryer whirring]
I don't want you telling them
about souls leaving bodies.
I don't want discussion
of heaven and hell.
Michael Oslo asked me
to speak to them.
Well, I'm telling you not to.
You too.
I haven't said anything.
It's only a matter of time.
But Michael Oslo was right
about one thing.
The kids think about death.
I'll make sure there's somebody
to talk to them,
but I want it to be secular, that's all.
Thank you!
- Howard, we're in your office. We--
- [door shuts]
Well, never mind.
Do you hear what's happening
about this Hutton boy?
It's grotesque--
Gary, we may have to speak up.
If Judge Bone even thinks
about granting that motion--
- Then we get involved.
- Oh...listen.
You picked a fine time to get caught
with your Imdela Marcos collection.
Now, don't you start.
The problem is we don't
have any real credibility
on this afterlife issue.
Oh, we can preach all we want,
but they know,
in the end, we're just guessing.
Like everybody else.
I don't wanna die,
but according to the doctors,
I guess I'm gonna.
Must be scary to think of getting stuck
in an icebox, though.
But I'm more scared
of being dead forever.
- Why?
- Well...
...even if heaven is a great place,
I won't know anybody.
Everybody I know, they're all alive.
Except my grandfather,
but my mom
doesn't think he got in.
[Wambaugh] Are you afraid
of being alone?
When somebody dies,
we all get sad, 'cause he's gone,
and 'cause we'll miss him.
But, for that person who dies,
it's worse.
He loses everybody.
He has to miss everybody,
all at once.
I wanna keep living some more.
I'd like to try cryonics.
Thank you, Bobby.
Your witness.
I don't know much about heaven,
but they say
that you can still
sort of see people down here on Earth.
Have you ever heard that?
Yes, but they can't see you.
Is that important?
- Yes.
- Why?
Cause my parents,
they won't be able to see me,
to them I'll be completely gone.
Do you think about
how sad your parents will be
if you die?
Yes.
Do you worry about them
being sad?
Yes.
Bobby, I know that these are--
...they're very tough questions,
but I need you to really concentrate,
because the truth--
-it's very important.
Is one of the reasons
that you wanna be frozen,
is it because you're worried
about your parents?
Yes.
Yeah. And if you had to
make a guess,
what would you say
upsets you more?
Dying, or making your parents sad?
Hmm, making them sad.
And the idea of cryonics,
of being frozen,
whose idea was that?
Mom and Dad's.
[Biel] I see. Thank you.
You're a very brave young man.
I have no further questions,
Your Honor.
You want me to talk
to the fourth grade?
You're a psychic. You're on speaking terms
with dead people.
The kids will listen
to what you say.
Have Kenny talk to them,
he's been there.
- Ginny!
- What do you mean he's been there?
Nothing. You got a big mouth,
you know that, Ginny?
- Talk to the kids.
- Have you been dead before?
[phone rings]
I must be sundowning again.
- What was that about?
- Nothing.
Well, what did Ginny mean
when she said you've been there?
Last year when I was shot...
Remember when the Frogman's kid
put a bullet next to my heart?
When they were operating,
for about five seconds or so, I...
I was suddenly above the table
looking down at my body,
watching Jill reach for the bullet.
[sighs] Well, that could
have been a hallucination.
That's what I thought.
I asked Jill.
I asked her what she did,
everything that happened.
She described exactly
what I saw.
And I was completely unconscious
at the time.
I think I was dead.
And I came back.
I was up late last night, Your Honor,
working on this this case.
And I couldn't help but think
what a terrible judge you are.
A judge should
always follow the law,
and be above all, consistent.
A lawyer should know what to expect
when he walks into his courtroom.
The killing done a year ago,
you ruled that suicide fell
within the right to privacy,
and you held that
assisting suicide was legal.
Well, with Howard Buss
you suddenly say,
"assisting his suicide is wrong."
You're not consistent.
A lawyer cannot rely
on your rulings, and that's why
you'll never make it
to the Supreme Court.
I'm crushed.
The judges that do
make it to the top.
They worry about precedent,
and how their rulings
will affect the next case.
The trouble with you is
you worry too much
about the actual case in front of you.
Well, right in front of you
today is Bobby Hutton.
He wants to grow up
to play baseball for the Cubs.
He wants to grow up to get married.
He wants to grow up.
The odds are, he won't.
His only hope is this thing
called cryonics.
It's a long shot,
nobody is kidding anybody,
but to Bobby Hutton,
this long shot is everything.
It's all he's got.
I know most judges
will look at the big picture,
and deny the court order.
Well, they have to, of course.
But we're appearing before you.
There's a brave little boy here,
who's dying.
I hope for his sake
that you'll never make it
to the Supreme Court.
Every human being,
when born onto this earth, is blessed
with one thing in common.
A lifetime.
It could be 100 years if you're lucky,
10 minutes if you're not.
It appears
that Bobby Hutton's lifetime
will be about 10 years.
It's a tragedy
that it could be cut so short.
Sitting in a room
with this young man,
how could any of us not be
moved, touched by his, er,
his spirit,
his vitality,
and his dignity.
You don't often think
of nine-year-olds having dignity,
but this young man does.
How unfair that his,
his lifetime could be cut so short.
But unlike in a courtroom,
the laws of nature are, er,
they're very arbitrary.
They strike quickly, often
with no apparent connection to fairness,
and, there's usually no appeal.
Everybody in this room
desperately wants to believe in cryonics.
If it'll give Bobby life,
then damn it, let it be true.
But we all know better.
Despite the microscopic hope
that Mr. Wambaugh speaks of,
we know that once
we freeze this boy
to the extent his organs
no longer function,
he will be dead.
Dead forever.
That's not just a likely scenario,
it is as close to a certainty
as we can get.
And it's a tragedy.
But more tragic still,
would be to take a lifetime,
that is already
limited to 10 years,
and chop off six months.
Life is...
It is so very precious.
Especially his.
He has a day.
And another day after that,
and a whole week after that.
Then another week, and another.
He has six whole months,
to be with his family,
to love them,
to be loved.
Six months
for Bobby Hutton,
that is his lifetime.
How dare we,
in the name of science,
in the name of progress,
and most of all,
in the name of God, how dare we
take that away from him?
It was reckless disregard
for life.
I'm surprised at both of you.
How do you think he felt?
- Cold?
- It was cruel,
and so was shellacking him...
...that's very disrespectful.
- It was a tribute.
- A tribute?
Well, I'm sure he'd be so honored
if only you hadn't murdered him!
We thought if we could
freeze him and thaw him out,
we'd learn stuff that'd
help all frog kind.
Well, I think the way
to help frog kind
is to show a little respect
for each frog's life!
That's Ross.
We asked for volunteers.
He jumped.
[sighs]
[Bailiff] All rise!
Be seated.
Every so often,
a judge gets a case where the law
doesn't really help him at all.
I find myself not interpreting
rules or statutes,
but rather, gauging,
then trying to reflect
the values of the community.
But on this one,
I'm going to do something
I've never done before.
Not that it will control my ruling,
but, since I have a decent
cross-section of society in this room,
I'm going to ask for a show of hands.
For my own education.
How many here think Bobby Hutton
should be permitted
to be frozen, if that is his wish,
please raise your hands.
And how many
find the notion offensive?
All right.
Thank you.
Excuse me, Your Honor.
With the court's permission,
I'd like to say what I find offensive.
It's the fallacy
that people in this country
have a right to privacy
and self-determination.
It's a big lie!
What's your problem, Howard?
My problem is they say freedom
means nothing left to lose.
Well, that boy is terminal.
He has almost nothing left to lose,
and he's still not free
to take whatever measures
he wants to save his life.
Even when those measures
threaten nobody but himself.
If we want to risk death
to save our lives,
how dare any court
presume to tell us, "No"?
Women can have abortions
because you say
it's their body,
therefore, their right.
Why can't the sick and the elderly
get the same courtesy?
We're the ones who are dying.
Why the hell should we have to come
in here and ask your permission
to try whatever we've
got left to try?
You grant us the right to linger,
the right to suffer.
Every other prerogative
goes to society.
I'm sick of it!
That boy's life is on the line
and you ask for a show of hands?
I'm sick of the lawyers
and the judges,
I'm sick of the courts,
and right now,
I'm especially sick of you!
I'd like to lay that little diatribe
on your all-timer's Howard,
but I won't.
I know I have that coming.
Excuse me!
- As long as we're opening up the forum--
- We're not!
But Howard got to have his say.
Maybe there's another sentiment
that needs expressing.
You want your cross-section
of society or not?
30 seconds. Go.
This "right to die" thing,
has mushroomed
out of all proportion.
You know, it's a different
thing to refuse
extraordinary life-saving means,
and being put to death.
I think that point's
already been made, Henry.
Well, I haven't heard
anybody make the point
that death is a natural process.
We're human organisms.
We're put on this earth
with mortality.
And medicine should not be used
to pervert that.
I'm sorry, I have to respond.
- Hold on!
- One thing, Judge. One point.
There will always be new diseases.
20 years ago, we didn't have AIDS.
There will always be
new plagues.
Doctors should try to cure
whatever they can.
If it's leukemia today,
fine, cure leukemia.
Nature and medicine
will always battle.
We shouldn't be deciding
what kind of mortality is natural--
- Now, now, wait a minute!
- [Man] Here we go!
I haven't finished!
- [banging the gavel]
- [all the men yelling]
Stop talking, please!
Hey!
We're trying
to save one life here, okay?
I don't give a damn about the...
...societal ramifications
or the religious,
philosophical consequences.
I don't want to lose my son!
Why can't it just be about that?
Huh?
He doesn't wanna die.
What the hell are you
people all doing here?
Leave us alone!
Just leave us alone.
We'll adjourn for one hour.
I will then make my ruling.
[bangs gavel]
[Bailiff] All rise!
Same as before,
your rate's way up.
That little tantrum in court
didn't help.
Forgive me for having an opinion.
A person with Alzheimer's
should know better
than to have a point of view,
only we don't know better
because we have Alzheimer's, catch 22.
I should probably go home
and hug my teddy bear.
- You're angry.
- Damn right I'm angry.
That boy should be allowed
to be frozen if he wants.
Maybe I should try it too.
What can doctors do for me,
except take my pulse?
Well, one thing doctors
shouldn't do is play God.
When a child of nine
gets leukemia,
or when somebody
gets Alzheimer's,
maybe God isn't playing God,
maybe the genetic experts
should get a chance.
In that case, you'd be dead.
I'm not afraid of death.
I'm afraid of dying.
You're not afraid of death?
Are you?
I don't think much about it.
I'm terrified of it.
Why?
[inhales] I don't know.
What if there isn't a heaven
or an afterlife?
[sighs] What if this is
all there is, and...
...[sighs] the only thing
on the other side is darkness?
You'd be all alone.
100,000 years, and that's just
the beginning of eternity.
You'd be all alone in the darkness,
for ever and ever and ever.
Maybe we created the idea
of heaven and hell, because,
nothingness, that's worse.
I'm terrified of death.
[children all chattering]
I represent
the three comatose vegetables,
the potato man,
now a would-be popsicle.
The metaphor for life is food.
Do you see?
- Yeah.
- Food...
...and life, like food,
can sometimes last longer
with a little refrigeration.
"God works in mysterious ways."
I live by this.
- Yeah, I can see that.
- Judge is back. Let's go.
[Bailiff] Be seated.
As I said before,
the law gives me
little guidance on this one.
The problem is,
the boundaries of medicine
are so rapidly changing,
the law can't keep up.
How can I rely on legal precedents
which were made
with no comprehension
of today's technology.
We're learning how to clone people.
Already the technology is here
for parents to go in
and choose the sex of their child.
Someday, we'll able to select
eye color, and height.
One day, we'll have the ability
to make carbon copy people.
And I'm sure,
when that day gets close,
the law will jump in to legislate,
just like it's jumping in today
over cryonics.
The Attorney General says
we can't induce a boy's death.
The parents argue we're
trying to prolong life.
It all comes down
to definitions and rules
where medicine and law
don't agree.
But, what it finally,
finally comes down to,
is the judge.
Me.
Despite the robe
and the impressive setting,
Mr. and Mrs. Hutton,
beneath the veil,
I'm a human being.
And as a human being,
it isn't in me to allow your son
to be frozen to death.
It doesn't seem right.
I'd like to say
I'm governed by a legal mandate.
I'm not.
I'd like to say
I don't have a choice,
I do.
But, my choice is
not to induce his death for any reason.
If he has six months,
then he has six months.
Like Mr. Biel says,
that makes his time more precious.
And we shouldn't
shorten it further.
Bobby...
I hope you understand,
but I'm not asking you to.
I...
You're an extraordinary young man.
I'll pray for you.
I'll pray for all of us.
Plaintiff's motion denied.
[bangs gavel]
[soft music playing]
[soft chatter]
[theme music playing]