The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the next-of-kin do not have a right to organs removed by county coroners after autopsies are completed, according to a 6-1 ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court.

The decision is a win for coroners and medical examiners in 87 of Ohio’s 88 counties who are facing a federal class-action lawsuit.In writing the decision, Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton went beyond the typical law library materials and consulted the Post Mortem Technique Handbook and The Color Atlas of the Autopsy.  In about 5 percent of autopsies, brains are removed, hung upside down in a large container of fixing solution for up to six weeks, and then dissected after they’ve hardened. Dissection of the brain can yield information about tumors, strokes or contusions that may have led to death. (more…)