Cryonics may be a fantasy. But who would begrudge a dying girl that? | Deborah Orr

In the absence of religion, people find other ways to face death. This girl, and the mother who supported her fight, deserve nothing but sympathy

There is so much that is distressing about the case of JS, the 14-year-old girl with terminal cancer who wished to be cryonically preserved after death, in the hope that she could be revived when a cure for her rare illness had been discovered. Her mother supported the girl in her wishes; her estranged father did not. So, without the consent of both parents, the child had to apply to the courts for permission for the procedure to take place.

Related: 14-year-old girl who died of cancer wins right to be cryogenically frozen