Law and cremation practice

Q3 Medicine

Ethics, Medicine and Public Health Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101103

B. Py

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Context

At a time when other fundamental debates concern the quality of the end of life, it seems obvious that questions about how to die well remain at the heart of the essential question: the meaning of life. Since the dawn of time, human burials have been distinguished from animal burials by a cave, a dolmen, a tumulus or a cairn. Antiquity practiced embalming and burial very early on to protect the integrity of the corpse against all forms of destruction. Other philosophies favored the destruction of the body by immersion or cremation.

Methodology

The material studied takes account of the specific nature of legal science, based on a methodical analysis of the rules in all their diversity (laws and regulations in particular) and their application by the courts (case law), supplemented by a doctrinal perspective.

Results/discussion

Since time immemorial, legal rules have responded to a double contradictory concern: to ensure the preservation of public health by making sure that corpses are not sources of infection, and to maintain a maximum level of security for citizens in order to avoid hasty burials, which is a marginal but real risk. But today, the territory must face a lack of space and a serious environmental problem. So the law of 19 December 2008 was passed. This is a law of reaction to the privatization of ashes. It regulates the storage of urns and prohibits the sharing of ashes, in the name of the dignity and decency of human remains.

Conclusion/perspectives

Despite the limitations of the reforms introduced, cremation has rapidly become an integral part of the funeral environment in France. This change has been made possible by the establishment of a well-developed infrastructure covering almost the entire country. However, while the number of cremations has been rising since 2010, the number of crematoria has been falling over the same period. The future will tell whether the supply of crematoria is sufficient to meet demand, and whether cremation will become the majority option.

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法律和火葬实践

当其他基本的争论都在关注生命结束的质量时，似乎很明显，关于如何好死的问题仍然是这个基本问题的核心：生命的意义。从远古时代开始，人类的墓葬就以洞穴、墓门、坟墓或石堆来区别于动物的墓葬。古代很早就实行防腐和埋葬，以保护尸体的完整性免受各种形式的破坏。其他的哲学倾向于通过浸泡或火化来毁灭尸体。方法论所研究的材料考虑到法律科学的特殊性，基于对各种规则（特别是法律和法规）及其在法院的应用（判例法）的系统分析，并辅以理论观点。结果/讨论自古以来，法律规则就对双重矛盾的关切作出了回应：通过确保尸体不是感染源来确保维护公共卫生，并为公民维持最大程度的安全，以避免仓促埋葬，这是一个微不足道但真正的风险。但如今，香港必须面对空间不足和严重的环境问题。因此，2008年12月19日的法律得以通过。这是对骨灰私有化的反应规律。它规定了骨灰盒的存放，并以人类遗骸的尊严和体面的名义禁止分享骨灰。结论/观点尽管引入的改革有局限性，火葬已迅速成为法国葬礼环境的一个组成部分。这一变化之所以成为可能，是因为建立了几乎覆盖全国的发达基础设施。然而，自2010年以来，火葬的数量一直在上升，而同期火葬场的数量却在下降。未来将告诉我们，火葬场的供应是否足以满足需求，火葬是否会成为大多数选择。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Ethics, Medicine and Public Health Medicine-Health Policy

CiteScore

2.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

107

审稿时长

42 days

期刊介绍： This review aims to compare approaches to medical ethics and bioethics in two forms, Anglo-Saxon (Ethics, Medicine and Public Health) and French (Ethique, Médecine et Politiques Publiques). Thus, in their native languages, the authors will present research on the legitimacy of the practice and appreciation of the consequences of acts towards patients as compared to the limits acceptable by the community, as illustrated by the democratic debate.