Ambulance to the future.

Life and death are the subjects of the three items in this programme. Item 1 examines the ban on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in Germany. Some doctors want the law changed; disabled people's organizations support the ban. Prof. Eberhard Schwingen (Lubeck University) thinks the decision should be left to the individual. Meanwhile, those determined to obtain PGD go abroad. Item 2 is a report from Malta in the aftermath of the separation of the conjoined twins Jodie and Mary in which Mary's life was sacrificed to enable her sister to survive. The arguments for and against the separation of the twins are set out. Prof. Mark Brincat (St. Luke's Hospital, Malta) who advised the mother to go to Britain for the birth, to ensure the best chance of the babies' survival, sees both sides of the argument. He also practices in Nottingham, but in Malta he is bound by the law of the country which would not allow surgery involving the almost certain sacrifice of one twin to save the other. In Malta the dead child is a symbol of the tyranny of science over God's will; in Britain the case brought out widespread uncertainty over the rights and wrongs involved. Item 3 is about the thriving business of cryonic suspension. A London funeral director who offers this service discusses the reasons why it appeals to people and visits the Cryonics Institute, Detroit, where the process is explained in a tour of the plant.