X-Message-Number: 21183 Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 09:19:57 -0800 Subject: Ashcroft Seeks New Autopsy Authority From: Peter Merel <> Discussing the new "Domestic Security Act of 2003", also known as USA Patriot Act Part II, UPI reports (http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030212-050659-1163r): "Autopsies of the victims of terrorist attacks and other deadly crimes, as well as other persons, can be an effective way of obtaining information about the perpetrators," according to the recommendations drafted by the Justice Department Office of Legislative Affairs. "In addition to revealing the cause of death, autopsies sometimes enable law enforcement to retrieve forensic evidence (such as bomb fragments) from the deceased body. Perhaps needless to say, autopsy will certainly ruin any chance its subject might have of obtaining an adequate suspension. Some groups, notably jews, oppose autopsy on religious grounds, so it may be that this particular measure won't survive. Then again, this is a pretty grim time in the USA, and few liberties seem able to withstand the culture's ever-increasing paranoia. -- Thanks to Henri Kluytmans for slightly reducing my ignorance of world geography. I've plainly lived a sheltered life. Perhaps Switzerland is a better choice for European cryonics: http://www.worldrtd.org/SwissAStourismNYT1.html Peter Merel. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=21183