PORTLAND (AP) — Health care facilities in Oregon will be allowed to return amputated body parts to patients for cultural, spiritual or religious reasons under a new law supported by tribes, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
The bill, which takes effect on Sept. 24, was spearheaded by St. Charles Health System and leaders of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. For some members of the tribes, keeping a person’s body together is necessary for a smooth transition to the spirit world.
“In our spirituality, one of our sayings is ‘one body, one mind,’” said Wilson Wewa, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs spiritual leader and oral historian. “When there’s amputation, most of our tribal members know that we need to be whole at the time of our leaving this world to the next.”
Previous state law made returning parts difficult or impossible. At St. Charles, parts could be blessed and cremated, with the remains returned to the patient.