California Government Code

§ 27491.43

GOV § 27491.43 Effective Jan 1, 2017Div. 2 · Title 3 · Part 3 · Ch. 10 · Art. 2

Statute text

(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other law, except as otherwise provided in this section, in any case in which the coroner, before the beginning of an autopsy, dissection, or removal of corneal tissue, pituitary glands, or any other organ, tissue, or fluid, has received a certificate of religious belief, executed by the decedent as provided in subdivision (b), that the procedure would be contrary to his or her religious belief, the coroner shall neither perform, nor order the performance of, that procedure on the body of the decedent.

(2)If, before beginning the procedure, the coroner is informed by a relative or a friend of the decedent that the decedent had executed a certificate of religious belief, the coroner shall not order an autopsy to be performed, except as otherwise provided in this section, for 48 hours. If the certificate is produced within 48 hours, the case shall be governed by this section. If the certificate is not produced within that time, the case shall be governed by the other provisions of this article.

(b)Any person, 18 years of age or older, may execute a certificate of religious belief which shall state in clear and unambiguous language that any postmortem anatomical dissection or that specified procedures would violate the religious convictions of the person. The certificate shall be signed and dated by the person in the presence of at least two witnesses. Each witness shall also sign the certificate and shall print on the certificate his or her name and residence address.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 787, Sec. 3. (SB 1189) Effective January 1, 2017.