Texas Lawmaker Seeks to Outlaw Unconsented Medical Research on Corpses Following us Investigation
This article is part of the “Dealing with the Dead” series, which examines the use of unclaimed bodies for medical research purposes.
A Texas state lawmaker, appalled by an NBC News investigation into a medical school that profited from the bodies of the poor and vulnerable, has introduced legislation to ban the practice of conducting medical research on corpses without explicit consent. The move comes as a direct response to us News’ “Dealing with the Dead” series, which revealed that the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth had taken hundreds of unclaimed bodies from Dallas and Tarrant counties, dissected them, and leased them to medical device companies, other universities, and the U.S. Army.
The investigation uncovered numerous families who claimed they would have claimed their loved ones’ bodies and provided proper funerals if they had been notified. Some family members were still searching for their relatives, unaware of their deaths. State Senator Tan Parker, who filed the bill in the Texas Legislature, stated that he was unaware of the Health Science Center’s activities until he saw the NBC News report in September. He described the findings as both outrageous and disturbing.
“Every Texan deserves dignity in life and in death, and the right of families to decide how their loved ones’ remains are handled must be protected,” Parker, a Republican representing parts of Dallas and Tarrant counties, said in a statement. “No family should ever have to worry that the remains of their loved ones could be taken, dismembered, and leased out without any effort to notify the next of kin. This legislation aims to put an end to this practice once and for all, ensuring that Texas law upholds the highest ethical standards and respects the dignity of every individual.”
In addition to prompting legislative action, the NBC News report has led to significant changes at the Health Science Center. The institution suspended its body donation program, dismissed the officials responsible for it, and announced it would no longer accept unclaimed bodies. Medical device and research companies, including Boston Scientific, as well as the U.S. Army, have also reassessed their arrangements with the center and pledged to avoid using unclaimed bodies in the future. Furthermore, members of Congress have sought answers, and officials in Tarrant County have adopted policies to ensure unclaimed bodies are treated with dignity.
The investigation also brought closure to families who had been left in the dark about the fate of their loved ones. Tim Leggett learned from NBC News that his brother Dale, a World War II history enthusiast, had died alone at a Tarrant County hospital in May 2023. Without notifying Leggett, the county medical examiner had provided his brother’s body to the Health Science Center, which then shipped the remains out of state to a for-profit medical education company. Leggett praised Parker’s efforts to ban the practice.
“There is a clear distinction between right and wrong, especially when it comes to how we treat each other, whether we are alive or deceased,” Leggett said. “This bill is definitely a positive step in ensuring that this does not happen to any other families.”
Leggett was one of nearly a dozen family members who learned the fate of their relatives through NBC News and Noticias Telemundo reports. Six of those families found their loved ones’ names on a list published by the news outlets. Kimberly Patman, who discovered from NBC News that her ex-husband’s body had been dissected and leased out, also welcomed Parker’s bill.
“I am very thankful for their efforts to prevent what happened to Victor and others from ever happening again,” Patman said.
Victor Honey, a homeless Army veteran who struggled with mental illness, died in Dallas in 2022 without his family being notified. The Health Science Center dissected his body and leased parts to two medical companies and the Army. After learning of his death last spring, his family buried his cremated remains at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. The experience deeply affected Patman, as well as Honey’s adult children and siblings.
“You can’t fully grasp the impact unless it has happened to your family,” Patman said.
Parker’s bill would prohibit the donation of unclaimed bodies to medical schools or private body brokers unless the individual had consented to the donation before death or if permission was granted by the next of kin. If passed, the measure would prevent a recurrence of the Health Science Center’s actions and make Texas one of the few states to explicitly ban research on unclaimed bodies—individuals whose families are either unable to afford funeral arrangements or cannot be contacted. While the practice is legal in most states, it is increasingly viewed as unethical by anatomists and leaders in the body donation industry, who argue that the dead should be treated with the same respect as living patients.
Officials in North Texas had justified sending unclaimed bodies to the Health Science Center by claiming that the arrangements saved local governments the cost of burials and cremations, helped train students and doctors, and supported lifesaving research. However, NBC News found that medical examiner’s offices in Dallas and Tarrant counties, as well as staff at the Health Science Center, failed to contact reachable relatives before labeling the bodies as unclaimed.
Through thousands of pages of documents and data obtained via public records requests, reporters determined that Dallas and Tarrant counties had sent approximately 2,350 unclaimed bodies to the Health Science Center since 2019. Of these, over 830 were selected for dissection and study and advertised as being “of the highest quality found anywhere in the U.S.” The center charged medical device and training companies $649 for heads, $330 for a pair of feet, and $1,400 for a whole body. The body trade generated approximately $2.5 million a year for the center.
The deceased included military veterans, individuals struggling with drug addiction and mental illness, and a young murder victim. While some had lost contact with their relatives, their families said they loved and missed them and would have claimed their bodies if they had known they were dead.
After NBC News shared its findings with the Health Science Center, the institution offered condolences to the families and acknowledged the problems uncovered by the reporters. “As a result of the information brought to light through your inquiries, it has become clear that failures existed in the management and oversight of The University of North Texas Health Science Center’s Willed Body Program,” the center stated in a statement last year.
Parker’s bill, which may undergo revisions as it progresses through the Legislature, will next be debated in a Texas Senate committee. Parker’s office is working to introduce a companion bill in the Texas House and hopes to secure bipartisan support.
Eli Shupe, a bioethicist at the University of Texas at Arlington, said Parker’s bill would mark a “landmark shift” in protecting corpses from misuse. Shupe began speaking out against the Health Science Center’s use of unclaimed bodies over three years ago when she first learned of the practice.
“Texas would essentially transition from a state recently criticized for unethical practices to a model for others to follow,” she said. “Very few states have legislation like this. We would become a real leader in the country.”
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