Purpose.The General Assembly recognizes:
         (1) that each individual in the State regardless of
    
his or her economic situation is entitled to a dignified disposition of his or her remains;
        (2) that it is a matter of public concern and
    
interest that the preparation, care, and final disposition of a deceased human body be attended to with appropriate observance and understanding;
        (3) that it is a matter of public concern and
    
interest that there is a due regard and respect for the reverent care of the human body, for those bereaved, and the overall spiritual dignity of every person;
        (4) that the provision of cadavers and other human
    
materials is a much-needed service for the advancement of medical, mortuary, and other sciences;
        (5) that there is a critical shortage of cadavers
    
necessary for the advancement of medical, mortuary, and other sciences;
        (6) that the State has, in the past, paid for the
    
burial and funeral of indigent individuals;
        (7) that payment for such services is not now
    
consistent with the needs or demands of the current State budget;
        (8) that the State has had a long-standing policy
    
that government officials who have custody of a body of any deceased person shall transfer such custody to any State medical college, school, or other institution of higher science education or school of mortuary science for advancement of medical, anatomical, biological, or mortuary science; and
        (9) that current law provides that any county coroner
    
may donate bodies not claimed by family members or friends.

Terms Used In Illinois Compiled Statutes 755 ILCS 66/5

  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.36
  • State: when applied to different parts of the United States, may be construed to include the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" may be construed to include the said district and territories. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.14
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