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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Courts - "Ohio Court Debates Rights to Body Parts"
See this entry from Howard Bashman's blog, How Appealing, quoting this AP story (and lauding the Ohio Supreme Court website). The AP story begins:
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — During an autopsy, the Hamilton County coroner removed Christopher Albrecht's brain and never put it back — a common practice for coroners.But when Albrecht's parents learned years later that they had buried him without a brain, they filed a lawsuit that raises ethical, moral and religious questions about the treatment of one's body after death.
The case, to be argued Wednesday before the Ohio Supreme Court, has drawn international attention for its ramifications to coroners, crime investigators, EMTs, funeral directors and followers of religions that espouse the importance of burying the whole body.
The Albrechts argue that they had a right under the Ohio Constitution to their son's brain, and a right under the U.S. Constitution to reclaim the brain before it was destroyed. The lawsuit is a class action suit against coroners and commissioners in 87 of Ohio's 88 counties covering cases dating to 1991.
Under Ohio law, brains, hearts and other body parts and fluids removed during an autopsy are classified as medical waste, which generally means they are incinerated after use.
"What this case really comes down to is, for the convenience of the government, are we Ohioans, we humans, supposed to give up our most basic rights to the human remains of our loved ones?" said John Metz, an attorney who brought the Albrechts' suit. "I am absolutely amazed to have to be standing in front of the highest court in our state to defend against such a socialist view."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 23, 2008 10:03 AM
Posted to Courts in general