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<p>This rumor might be true, but we have no reason to believe it is. It comes from comments on news articles. We may believe the family acted unwisely after the death of their daughter, but we don’t know what they did before the death. It’s unkind to repeat random rumors that reflect badly on the family when we have no reason at all to believe them. People make things up all the time.</p>
<p>I believe cartera45 is correct about the bacteria. I’ve seen video of the body farms and no one was wearing masks or hazmat suits even though the decomposing bodies are only a few feet apart.</p>
<p>If the police were to enter my house and find that I had deceased Aunt Beatrice, Uncle Bernie, Cousin Charlie and the rest of the clan sitting around my front parlor, I would have to imagine I’d be arrested and charged with something, though I don’t know what that something would be. At the least, I’d think a psychiatric evaluation would be ordered.</p>
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I am very glad to hear that. But I guess my core superstitious, primeval self, is horrified. I don’t assume that that would be a universal POV, though!</p>
<p>If you had your deceased relatives in your parlor, who would you be injuring? I can’t see any injury unless we talk about religious beliefs.</p>
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And would the police enter your house because you had stabbed someone to death in the shower?</p>
<p>^^^^ Pizzagirl, please remind me not to show up at your next family reunion. ;0)</p>
<p>Oh, no worries, Sue. I don’t have to schedule family reunions – apparently there’s a family reunion in my front parlor every day 
There’s Uncle Bernie, toppling over again in Aunt Beatrice’s lap. He must want his tea. I think I need to turn on a Victrola while I’m at it so they can pretend they are dancing like they did when they were honeymooners. Here I come, Uncle Bernie!</p>
<p>Perhaps some of you are aware of the whereabouts of the remains of political philosopher Jeremy Bentham…</p>
<p>The police may show up due to the unmistakable smell of decomposed and rotted flesh emanating out Pizza’s windows and doors.</p>
<p>I think that the smell would be the main reason for the police to show up. The desecration laws seem to deal mostly with mutilation, digging up bodies, etc. If it is okay to dress up a body and keep it for a day or two prior to burial, why isn’t it okay to keep them indefinitely?</p>
<p>If Pizzagirl hauls the dead relatives’s bodies from the hospital back to her house, then what prevents me from doing so? She set the precedent, and according to my religious beliefs, I have the right to bring my beloved auntie Marge to my house, nevermind the fact that she died of complications of a contagious infection. zoosermom is right - it is a public health nightmare. The bodies that are released to relatives for open casket funerals (ugh!) have been treated to make sure they do not present a public health hazard. Those funerals are relatively fast. Even a well embalmed body starts to decompose if no further embalming is done - Lenin’s corpse has been dunked into embalming fluids on a regular basis.</p>
<p>Do not read the following if you have a weak stomach:</p>
<p>[What</a> really happens when you die? Meet the people who handle us after death | Life and style | The Guardian](<a href=“http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/feb/16/healthandwellbeing.weekend2]What”>What really happens when you die? | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian)</p>
<p>I wonder if the family got to the point where they were too far in to back out. It seems to me that the alternative to keeping up the fight would be to say, “Okay, I guess she is dead and CHO was right all along.” Psychologically that may not be something they can do right now.</p>
<p>I’ve seen this happen in other sorts of negotiations. The relationship between the parties becomes so adversarial that neither can back down even when it’s in their best interest. The difficulty of dropping the legal battle would be exacerbated in this case by the public attention.</p>
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<p>Indefinitely? Be sure to put the body in a deep freezer or the body starts to lose the skin starting at the head.</p>
<p>nrdsb4 - Simply put, Angela Clemente is a controversial activist. She was involved in some high-profile organized crime trials.</p>
<p>Don’t we already have regulations dealing with potential contagion requiring quarantine? Wouldn’t that cover Auntie Marge?</p>
<p>I don’t think this is a ridiculous discussion. I think it deals with a lot of basic family rights issues.</p>
<p>eta: and I think catera probably figured out what is going on in this thread with post 1606</p>
<p>Let’s assume that what I want to do is mummify my loved one and place him in a pyramid in my back yard. I think that, depending on where I live, I may have to be allowed to do this to accommodate my family’s religious views. A court would balance my right to accommodation against the locality’s interests in prohibiting large pyramids, or tombs in residential areas, etc. The specific facts would determine the outcome. If I live on a remote farm, I think I should have the right to the pyramid.</p>
<p>Yikes, 07Dad, you sound as though you know a little bit too much about this. What’s in your freezer?!</p>
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My daughter’s best friend is a mummy conservation expert. I feel the need to wonder about her now.</p>
<p>So if families get to determine when someone is actually dead what stops the family from stating Aunt Margie is not dead .She would continue to receive social security and pension payments. If you have power of attorney for Aunt Margie you will be banking these monies indefinitely.</p>