Whatcom medical examiner opposes bill to stop autopsies for religious reasons

OLYMPIA — A proposed law giving families a way to stop autopsies for religious reasons, prompted by the recent case of a Jewish hiker who died on Mount Rainier, is making its way through the Legislature.

State Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, amended the bill to address concerns raised by medical examiners. But Whatcom County Medical Examiner Gary Goldfogel said he would oppose it in any form, saying it infringes on the ability of forensic professionals to serve the public interest without interference.

Kline drafted the bill at the request of the Jewish community after a court fight between the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office and the family of an Orthodox Jew who died while snowshoeing on Mount Rainier in December.

The family of Brian Grobois, a 54-year-old Orthodox Jew from New York, secured a court order Dec. 16 in Pierce County Superior Court to prevent Dr. Thomas Clark, the county's chief medical examiner, from performing an autopsy. The Jewish faith requires that a body be returned to earth as quickly as possible with all blood, tissue and body parts intact.

Clark maintained state law empowers him to determine the cause and manner of unnatural deaths and that an autopsy was needed to answer questions that arose in his mind about how Grobois died.

Medical examiners testified it's not uncommon for families to raise religious objections to autopsies, but it's rare for such disagreements to go to court.

State law currently doesn't allow families to stop autopsies on religious grounds. The judge in the Grobois case sided with the family on a technicality — that the hiker's death on federal property diminished the county's standing in the case.

The amendments by Kline, who is Jewish, sought to address concerns by medical examiners that anyone could claim a religious objection and that medical examiners and coroners could face civil lawsuits filed by upset families.

Kline talked with leaders of the Jewish and Islamic faiths as well as with Goldfogel, who testified against the bill at a Jan. 17 hearing.

Goldfogel, who also is Jewish, said the legislation creates unnecessary delays, puts families at odds with medical examiners and takes "a hammer to a problem" that could be resolved with education and communication.

"Although he (Kline) tried to meet a couple of my concerns, the idea of legislative interference in the practice of forensic pathology is actually a horrible idea," Goldfogel said. "This is not something that should ever happen."

Kline expressed confidence in a recent interview that the bill would became law even over the continued objections of medical examiners by striking a balance between religious rights and law enforcement needs.

Zach Carstensen of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle questioned at the committee hearing the worth of a system "so rigid that it requires court action for a religious point of view to be considered."

Senate Bill 6068 would prevent a medical examiner or coroner from performing an autopsy for at least 48 hours if a close friend or relative raises an objection on religious grounds. The timeout would enable the family or friend to ask a court to determine if the autopsy is necessary.

A religious objection could not be raised if the death is believed to be the result of homicide or is a threat to public health.

At the same time, the bill would allow a medical examiner or coroner to initiate a special proceeding seeking court approval for an autopsy he or she deems necessary. A judge who authorizes the autopsy would have to require a medical examiner to perform it in a way that complies with the religion of the dead person as much as possible.

One change made to the original bill would shield medical examiners or coroners from civil liability if they comply with the law.