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Suit On Behalf of Monks Challenges Louisiana's Regulation of Funeral Industry

By Howard M. Friedman

The Institute for Justice announced that yesterday it filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Louisiana on behalf of Saint Joseph Abbey of St. Benedict, Louisiana, to vindicate the right of the monks to make and sell their plain wooden caskets. When the monks opened St. Joseph's Woodworks in 2007, they were immediately warned by the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors that they faced possible fines, jail time and a lawsuit for an injunction. Louisiana Code, RS 37:831(35) defines the business of funeral directing as including any retail sale of caskets. According to Institute for Justice:

Under Louisiana law, it is a crime for anyone but a licensed funeral director to sell ?funeral merchandise,? which includes caskets. To sell caskets legally, the monks would have to apprentice at a licensed funeral home for one year, learn unnecessary skills, and pass a funeral industry test. They would also have to convert their monastery into a ?funeral establishment? by, among other things, installing equipment for embalming human remains.

Viewing this as an economic liberty issue, Institute for Justice claims that the rules support a cartel of licensed funeral directors who have lobbied the legislature to obtain a lucrative monopoly. Andrew Breitbart also blogs on the case.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on August 13, 2010 (boomark / email).