Posted on: Monday, March 4, 2002

EDITORIAL
More education needed on mourners' rights

The recent spate of burial scandals in Georgia, California and Hawai'i spotlights grisly abuses in the funeral business. But it also suggests that, as a society, we've become poor stewards of the dead.

Typically when a family member dies, we let funeral homes handle "the arrangements."

Such "packages" help relieve the pressure from grieving families and are welcomed by many. But they also can leave families in the dark about the condition and whereabouts of their loved ones. Though most funeral homes are reputable, there have been reports of unscrupulous practices.

Meanwhile, state and federal agencies aren't doing a great job protecting consumers. And with some 2 million funerals held each year in the United States, this is a lucrative business.

There may be issues of regulation to be dealt with. But it is clear that we also need more education about the legal rights of relatives so they can better protect and advocate for their dead.

Take the case of the Memorial Mortuary in Hilo, where authorities are investigating allegations that some corpses were buried in body bags instead of caskets purchased by relatives. Those relatives are just now learning that they could have viewed the burials to ensure the caskets made it into the grave.

In fact, families can bury their own dead if they obtain the necessary health and land- use paperwork. It's worth knowing about the range of options available.

In England, for example, there's a small but growing "natural death" trend in which people can arrange inexpensive do-it-yourself burials. First, you purchase a burial plot in a designated woodland cemetery, and choose a tree to be planted at the grave in lieu of a stone headstone. You can make or purchase a bio-degradable casket. Then, with the necessary paperwork in hand, one transports the body in the casket from the home or hospital to the cemetery, and after a personalized funeral service, lower it into the grave.

Such alternatives have yet to reach Hawai'i, and they may not be wanted here. But it would be helpful for the state to explain what options are available. As it stands in Hawai'i today, burials and cremations come under the purview of various agencies. And there are few if any coherent guidelines for those who want to handle their own "arrangements" and regain stewardship of their dead.