LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A bill introduced in the Arkansas legislature on Monday would criminalize selling a cadaver or body parts slated for cremation.
Senate Bill 17 would fine violators up to $10,000 fine and a 5-year prison term for each violation. The legislation intends to create “Lux’s Law.”
According to the Department of Justice , Lux was the name of a stillborn baby from Little Rock. Officials said the body was taken and resold by an employee of a Little Rock mortuary and crematorium. Lux’s mother received cremated remains, only to find out later by federal investigators that it was not the remains of her child.
The legislation would make any violation a strict liability offense, meaning the law would apply regardless of the circumstances of the person committing the crime, including their mental state.
Former Harvard morgue manager stole brains, skin and other body parts to sell them, indictment says