New York passes the Human Fertilization Act

Howard Fisher, a 63-year-old investor who lives in the North New Yorkwe weHe has a wish when he dies. He wants his remains encased in a jar, processed by tiny microbes, and composted in rich, fertile soil.

“I am committed to composting my body and my family knows it,” she said. I’d rather it happen in New York, where I live, than anywhere else in the country. «

Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill on Saturday 31 to legalize natural and organic reduction, better known as human fertilization. Thus, New York became the sixth state in the United States to allow this method of burial.

Washington state became the first U.S. state to legalize human fertilization in 2019, followed by Colorado and Oregon in 2021, and Vermont and California in 2022.

For Fisher, this alternative, an environmental method of burial, is consistent with his philosophical views on life: living in an environmentally friendly way.

The process goes like this: A person’s body is placed in a reusable container accompanied by plant materials such as wood chips, alfalfa seeds, and straw. The organic blend creates the perfect habitat for microbes to naturally thrive and get the job done, breaking down your body quickly and efficiently in about a month.

The end result is a mound of nutrient dense soil, equivalent to 36 bags of earth, which can be used to plant trees or enrich protected lands, forests and gardens.

In urban areas like New York, where land is limited, this can be seen as a very attractive alternative to burial.

Michelle Minter, director of the Greensprings Cemetery Conservation Center in central New York, said the foundation “will seriously consider” this method as an alternative. “It’s definitely more in line with what we’re doing,” she added.

a Cemetery The nature reserve covers an area of ​​52 hectares and is in the middle of a protected forest, and offers ecological and natural burials, when the bodies are placed in a biodegradable container and then in a pit where they can decompose completely.

“Anything we can do to get people away from concrete ceilings and fancy boxes and formaldehyde, we have to do and support it,” she said. But not everyone agrees with this idea.

The New York State Catholic Council, a group representing the state’s bishops, has long opposed the law, calling the burial method “inappropriate.”

“A perfectly appropriate process for returning plant remains to the soil is not necessarily appropriate for human bodies,” Dennis Post, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement. “Human corpses are not household waste and we don’t believe the process meets the criteria for respectful treatment of our remains,” he added.

Katrina Speed, founder of Recompose, a green funeral home in Seattle that offers human composting, said the company has an alternative for people who want to align disposing of their remains with how they live.

“This looks like a movement” among environmentalists, he said. “Cremation uses fossil fuels and burial uses a lot of land with a carbon footprint,” Katrina said. “For a lot of people, the idea of ​​turning into dirt that can then be turned into a garden or a tree is a great idea.” /Press Agency