Family members will have more options in providing after-death care to their loved ones, under a new law signed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty April 22.
Sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Laine (DFL-Columbia Heights) and Sen. Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul), the law modifies restrictions on who may control a dead body, how a body may be transported and how it must be preserved. Under the law, next of kin have the right to control a dead body, including removing the body from place of death with authorization from the Department of Health. A requirement in current statute that a body be embalmed before it is transported is removed.
Effective Aug. 1, 2010, the law also permits a body to be packed in dry ice instead of embalmed in preparation for private viewing. With permission of the funeral home, family and friends of the deceased may assist with the washing and dressing of the body someplace other than the funeral home’s preparation room.
Laine said the law reflects a growing desire for after-death procedures that are more natural and less reliant on toxic chemicals.
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SF2903/CH262
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