The cause of death
The plaintiff’s 18-year-old son died suddenly at home. His body was taken to the hospital, where the cause of death could not be found without an autopsy. The deputy medical examiner ordered a postmortem examination. The plaintiff was a member of the Jewish Orthodox faith and refused the postmortem examination of his son on the basis that religious conviction prohibited any molestation of the body after death. Is freedom of religion curtailed by a law that has a compelling state interest?
Sample Solution
An interest is compelling when it is essential or necessary rather than a matter of choice, preference, or discretion. The laws mandate that religious liberty of individuals can only be limited by the “least restrictive means of furthering a compelling government interest.” By law, states commonly require autopsies when a person`s cause of death is unknown, death occurs under suspicious circumstances, or when it is feared that a communicable disease threatening to the public may have been responsible. Sometimes state autopsy laws conflict with religious objections to such procedures, bringing into play First Amendment questions of religious liberty. States typically make provisions for cases in which autopsies conflict with religious beliefs.
