Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:952 – The legislature hereby finds that Louisiana law has never permitted, recognized, or sanctioned ownership rights in human remains and that such materials are explicitly exempted from
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:952
- Human remains: means the body or parts thereof of a deceased person and includes the body or parts thereof in any stage of decomposition, as well as cremated remains. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:953
- Trade: means to distribute, to offer for sale, to offer for acquisition, to buy, to sell, to barter, to exchange, to give, to receive, to donate, or to bequest, whether by physical delivery or by subterfuge. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:953
The legislature hereby finds that Louisiana law has never permitted, recognized, or sanctioned ownership rights in human remains and that such materials are explicitly exempted from property concepts under both common and civil law. The legislature further finds that the trade in or commodification of human remains fosters the looting and desecration of cemeteries and other sacred sites. The legislature further finds that existing state laws do not adequately protect against the illicit trade in human remains and that such trade needs to be stemmed in order to minimize looting and desecration of cemeteries. The legislature also finds and declares that there is a need for a central state entity to manage the enforcement of human remains laws and that, because the attorney general is already the statutory counsel to the Louisiana Cemetery Board, as well as being charged with civil enforcement of the Louisiana Unmarked Human Burial Sites Preservation Act and the Louisiana Historic Cemetery Preservation Act, the attorney general is uniquely qualified to enforce and police all illicit transactions in and commodification of human remains contemplated by this Chapter.
Acts 2016, No. 531, §1, eff. June 17, 2016.