Autopsies: A Delicate Balance of Law and Religious Freedom

(Lubavitch.com) On Friday, the Washington State Senate approved a bill 48 to 2, authorizing religious objection to an autopsy. The bill was brought to the chamber by a number of Jewish organizations, including Chabad representative to Tacoma, Rabbi Zalman Heber, after trying to prevent an autopsy following the tragic death of Dr. Brian Grobois.

In early December 2011, Brian Grobois of New Rochelle, NY, died while snowshoeing on Mount Rainier. The ensuing battle between Grobois’s family and the medical examiner’s office over whether to conduct an autopsy became the center of a political debate in Washington’s Pierce County and a nightmare for the Grobois family.

On Friday, the Washington State Senate approved a bill 48 to 2, authorizing religious objection to an autopsy. The bill was brought to the chamber by a number of Jewish organizations, including Chabad representative to Tacoma, Rabbi Zalman Heber, after trying to prevent an autopsy following the tragic death of Dr. Brian Grobois.

In early December 2011, Brian Grobois of New Rochelle, NY, died while snowshoeing on Mount Rainier. The ensuing battle between Grobois’s family and the medical examiner’s office over whether to conduct an autopsy became the center of a political debate in Washington’s Pierce County and a nightmare for the Grobois family.