Huge Lawsuit Could Change Handling of the Dead

Washington Post ^ | January 28, 2008 | Robert Barnes

[bamahead]

It was years after Mark and Diane Albrecht laid their son Christopher to rest that they discovered they had not buried all of him.

His brain had been removed for tests by an Ohio county coroner trying to determine why the seemingly healthy 30-year-old man had died. It was never returned.

The Albrechts' discovery that they had buried their son without his brain has led to a federal class-action suit that could cost local governments millions of dollars, force changes in the way medical examiners perform their jobs and establish new rights for the next of kin.

The suit argues that the next of kin, not the state, should make decisions on how to dispose of organs no longer needed for testing, and that denial of such a right violates the Constitution's promise of due process. The federal lawsuit names 87 of Ohio's 88 counties; the other, Hamilton County, which encompasses Cincinnati, has already settled with families for $6 million.

Beyond that, the case has presented two separate courts with existential questions about death and burial rites, religion and grief, and the interests that loved ones have in the remains of the departed.

The social commentary comes from likely sources, such as the Catholic League, and unlikely ones, such as the National Association of Medical Examiners.

"Human beings relate to the personhood and soul of other living human beings, but these qualities are extinguished at death," said the medical examiners' brief. "The real family interest is in the 'soul' of the deceased, if it continues in an afterlife, or in the memory of the 'soul', rather than to the dead carcass."

The "dead carcass" line has not played well with those who urge the courts to find for the families.

[raybbr]

The blood bank is calling all the time asking for him to donate - he tells them they can have a pint for $75.

I also have AB+. When he finds a buyer let me know.

[Constitution Day]

Definitely.

[bamahead]

LOL :)

[wintertime]

We don’t own our own bodies.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Given your reasoning people should be allowed to sell themselves into slavery.

[Charles Martel]

ME = ghoulish Klingon? Or science pioneer?

I told my wife to sell off my parts to the highest bidder and get it in cash if possible.

Definitely not Klingon. But quite possibly Ferengi.

[longtermmemmory]

try to claim your dna sequence.

there was a case where a man had a pancreas mutation that turned into a multimillion dollar new treatment. The human with the dna sequence got ZERO dollars.

[TheSarce]

Personhood ping...

[ASOC]

DOn’t know if it TOS canonical - thought Klingon's didn’t care abut a body after the ‘soul’ is gone.

[Charles Martel]

Okay, I'll continue the "geek hijack" of this thread. :-) As you speculated, the Klingons view the dead body as an empty shell, of no further use to a warrior who has gone on to serve in the Black Fleet. IF that was ever explored in TOS, it *might* have been hinted at in Day of the Dove, which offered comments such as: "We have no Devil, Kirk... but we understand the habits of yours."

[8mmMauser]

Pinged from Terri Dailies

8mm