Parliament Approves Bill Allowing Funeral Homes to Bury Unclaimed Bodies After Specified Duration

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Parliament has given its approval to amendments in the Public Health Amendment Bill of 2023, enabling Funeral Homes to inter unclaimed bodies after a specific period.

Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph ardently advocated for this legislation, emphasizing the government’s responsibility to arrange the burial of unclaimed bodies when no one comes forward to claim them.

Expressing his sympathy, he lamented the plight of families unable or unwilling to claim their deceased loved ones.

To alleviate the financial burden, provisions have been made for funeral expenses to be covered through the deceased’s estate or Social Security benefits.

In cases where assets are insufficient, the government will step in to cover reasonable costs.

The bill mandates that an unclaimed human corpse cannot be retained in a funeral home or any authorized facility for more than 14 days, emphasizing the need for a compassionate and efficient resolution to this matter.

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7 COMMENTS

  1. Fourteen days is not enough!
    Shouldn’t they be considering
    That families have to travel in from out of the country..
    This government so heartless

    • So what exactly is so wicked to bury an UNCLAIMED BODY?? Must government incurred all that expense of keeping human remains just because the family want to travel for the funeral of an UNCLAIMED BODY being buried at the expense of the taxpayers. Lady u sound so dunce it not even funny. Just another keyboard gangster utilizing the QWERTY keyboard🙄

      • Yes I’m a real dunce!
        You are the smartest person walking this earth also behind a keyboard, you feel better now?
        I hope when youv die your family will bury you in 14 days and that no one is traveling to come to your funeral!
        Some people are so heartless!!

        • U are a damn dunce because if you would have read the article it clearly states UNCLAIMED BODY. In other words the families not taking the responsibility of burying it. Why should the tax payers be footing a bill for thousands of dollars for a body the family nah want. As far as I see 14 to long. They don’t come claim it in 7 days bury it. How vex dead.

  2. In every country you have a set of Freeloaders. People who are hell bend to live life at the expense of others. They will not even pay for the funeral of their loved one. Their mother, father, grandmother etc. As far as they are concerned the government will take care of that. The same manner they literally dump their elderly at the gate of Fiennes Institute for others to take care of them. No sense of responsibility whatsoever. Some live right here in the country and don’t even visit their elderly, and others live overseas and really don’t give a damn. But if that elderly person dies and has left some assets behind, they will be the first to run to court to claim it.
    The government needs to get tough on these people. We need to pass laws that will forfeit every asset of that person to the state. Have it auctioned, and the funds placed into the Treasury for the compensation of all the costs associated with the funeral or any other related cost for the care that was offered to the deceased?

  3. @Sidey, kissing a$$again. Why are bodies going unclaimed? Did the government do an investigation into this? It is my opinion that most people will not abandon their love ones just like that. Never in the history of Antigua and Barbuda has such a thing happened. Why now?
    Let’s not forget that Molwyn Joseph is responsible for allowing bodies to rot in a dysfunctional container; that he told the world he saw many youths die from Covid-19; CBH is a total failure; where the hell is our cemetery when he was given 2.16 million dollars to construct one? This same clown is now advocating for abandoned bodies?
    Something is missing from this,as usual, with this ALP government. What are the numbers? How many unclaimed bodies have there been in the last 6 months,say? Man, at least remember that there are logical, reasoning folks out here who don’t just swallow the BS from this government.

  4. Wait,
    You don’t have no job?
    Geez is this your job to peruse ANR?
    I already told you I’m a dunce!
    You seem real angry,
    Seek some therapy please
    It’s good for your mental health!🤔

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