Washington State Court Stops Autopsy After Religious Objections

On Dec. 16, a Washington state Superior Court judge issued an order barring the Pierce County (WA) medical examiner from conducting an autopsy on the body of an Orthodox Jewish man who was found dead in the snow on Mount Rainier.  The Olympian reported on Friday that 54-year old Brian Grobois died on a solo snowshoe hike.  His body was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center where he was pronounced dead and his cause of death was listed on medical records as hypothermia/ cardiac arrest.  However Pierce County Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Clark thought the cause of death was not clear because the body was covered with bruises, and he wanted to perform an autopsy. The family objected, obtained a TRO from a county court commissioner. The county appealed, but Superior Court judge agreed. The episode produced a good deal of celebrity attention and political pressure on behalf of Grobois' family. The Pierce County Jewish community says it will ask the Washington legislature to enact a statutory provision allowing families to object on religious grounds to an autopsy.