HB 1069, the bill that would have legalized alkaline hydrolysis in Indiana, was defeated last week, chiefly because of criticism surrounding the process of disposing a liquid byproduct of the chemical cremation down the drain. Republican legislator, casket company owner, and former president of the Casket & Funeral Supply Association of America (hmm… no special interests there), Dick Hamm, reportedly compared the process to “flushing a loved one”.
As we’ve said before, one’s personal preferences for body disposition should not restrict the choices of others. And Hamm’s critique of alkaline hydrolysis seems unfair since in the common practice of embalming, the abdomen is pierced and sunctioned, blood is removed and the contents are routinely flushed down the drain, though this practice never faces the same condemnation from funeral industry professionals.
