Ohio court debates rights to body parts

January 24, 2008|Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday over whether the brain, heart, and other body parts removed during an autopsy should be returned to the relatives of the deceased instead of being destroyed as medical waste.

The parents of Christopher Albrecht say they had the right to bury their son with his brain intact instead of it being permanently removed at his autopsy. Their lawsuit against coroners and commissioners in 87 of Ohio's 88 counties raises ethical, moral, and religious questions about the treatment of bodies after death.

The case has drawn international attention for its ramifications to coroners, crime investigators, emergency medical technicians, funeral directors, and followers of religions that espouse the importance of burying the whole body.

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.

During oral arguments, justices appeared skeptical of both sides.

Ruling for the family would conflict with a 2006 law clarifying that coroners have the right to retain and destroy specimens taken during autopsies, defense lawyer Mark Landes said.

"That genie is out of the bottle after today," he said.

Christopher Albrecht, 30, died in December 2001 when his vehicle plunged into a pond. The coroner determined that an epileptic seizure prompted his accident, but that his death was caused by drowning.