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Abstract

This Note explores the dangers bubbling under the surface of body donation law across the United States. Specifically, this Note investigates the little-known contours of Ohio law that open the door for body donation practices that may bypass an individual’s consent. While data is slim on the real-world outcomes that such quirks in state law have produced, a recent news story out of Texas highlights the very real danger that the structure of these state body donation laws can produce. This Note first details the laws in place in Ohio that govern body donation, using one state’s laws as a lens to analyze how the whole nation could be impacted. Then, this Note discusses the donation of unclaimed bodies as a system that is simply beyond repair, deeply rooted in the social transgressions of grave robbery, and contrary to the standards in place governing cellular property law, medical ethics, and organ donation law. Finally, this Note explores a solution currently practiced in three states: abolition. Despite critics’ fears that abolishing the donation of unclaimed individuals’ bodies will negatively impact body donation rates and stifle economic gain, this Note uses the success of one state—New York—to illustrate why these fears do not outweigh the harms that the current unclaimed body donation landscape inflicts. In conclusion, using Ohio law as a focal point, this Note proposes that more states should consider abolishing such laws that allow for the donation of unclaimed bodies that did not consent to donation.

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