Members of the Jewish community in Australia’s most populous state have welcomed a recent decision stopping a coroner from performing an autopsy on an Orthodox Jewish man.
The deceased’s widow recently argued before the Supreme Court in New South Wales that an autopsy was, in her view, an act of desecration.
Many Orthodox Jews frown on autopsies, saying that Judaism forbids the mutilation of a corpse, even if scientific benefits would result from the examination.
During the court hearing, the coroner failed to present evidence that the circumstances surrounding the man’s death were suspicious.
The right of a family to object to an autopsy has gained prominence here with revelations of theft and other criminal behavior at the Sydney morgue.
The subject has also been high on the agenda of Jewish and Muslim groups as Australia debates religious rights.
Michael Marx, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, said in an interview, “It is a welcome sign by the judicial system that sensitivity will be exercised to religious beliefs to not cause undue distress or anxiety.”
He added the hope that the ruling would be recognized nationally.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
