SB68 Alabama 2020 Session

Existing law does not require a medical examiner performing his or her duties in any county in this state to notify the next of kin when retaining a deceased person's organ or organs for additional testing that is required to determine the cause or manner of death

This bill would require a medical examiner performing his or her duties in any county in this state to notify the next of kin, through the appropriate law enforcement agency, when retaining a deceased person's organ or organs for additional testing that is required to determine the cause or manner of death

This bill would also prohibit a medical examiner who is performing his or her duties in any county in this state from retaining an organ of the deceased for research or any other purpose not in conjunction with a determination of identification, cause, or manner of death without notification to, and approval by, the appropriate next of kin

Relating to medical examiners; to require medical examiners to notify the next of kin, through the appropriate law enforcement agency, when retaining a deceased person's organ or organs for additional testing related to a determination of the cause or manner of death; and to prohibit medical examiners from retaining an organ of the deceased for research or other purposes not in conjunction with a determination of identification, cause, or manner of death without notification to, and approval by, the next of kin.

Section 1

(a) Unless directed otherwise by the Governor, the Attorney General, a district attorney, or an order of a circuit court judge, a medical examiner performing his or her duties in any county in this state as provided under existing law, including a medical examiner employed by the Department of Forensic Sciences, shall notify the next of kin, through the appropriate law enforcement agency, when retaining a deceased person's entire organ or organs for additional testing that is required to determine identification or the cause or manner of death. (b) A medical examiner performing his or her duties in any county in this state as provided under existing law, including a medical examiner employed by the Department of Forensic Sciences, is prohibited from retaining a deceased person's entire organ or organs for research or any other purpose not in conjunction with a determination of identification or cause or manner of death without notification to, and approval by, the appropriate next of kin.

Section 2

This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.