ANNAPOLIS – A controversial debate over access to autopsy photos of racecar legend Dale Earnhardt spilled over to Maryland Thursday at a House Environmental Matters Committee meeting.
Autopsy reports are personal, said backers of a Maryland bill that would sharply restrict access to the records, and should be kept private.
Opponents, including an editor from The (Baltimore) Sun and a lobbyist for The Washington Post, said the records are important public information.
The debate turned sharp, with proponent Delegate George W. Owings III, D- Anne Arundel, reading from a gory autopsy report.
“You may not want to stick around for this,” he warned, launching into the report.
“`Tattoo was noted on inner aspect of the left upper thigh, which consist of Chinese lettering,’ and I should stop there and say probably this woman, because of the location, did not want this tattoo disclosed to the world,” Owings said. “However, it is.”
He then read a gruesome account about the condition of the body from the report.
“I have everything about this woman, that could ever be known by everybody including God,” he said. “This does not belong in your hands or mine.”
Owings also held up an autopsy photo and announced “this information does not need to be made public.”
Carol Melamed, vice president of government affairs for The Post, told the committees that autopsy records provided vital information for many Post stories, including a series the paper published on shootings by the Prince George’s County Police.
The legislation was prompted by letters sent to Gov. Parris N. Glendening from people upset over the Orlando Sentinel’s request to view the Earnhardt autopsy photos, said David R. Fowler, acting chief medical examiner.
Under the bill, access to now public autopsy records would be limited to governmental agencies, health care providers of the deceased, next of kin or anyone authorized by regulation to inspect the report. Under current law, which has been in place since 1939, the only time access is denied is if the autopsy is part of an on-going criminal investigation.
“Autopsy reports and related materials contain personal information that should be kept confidential in order to protect the dignity of the deceased and surviving family members,” Fowler said.
Fowler said he could not recall an instance where someone complained about the release of autopsy information, yet he said he was worried private information could be published with the proliferation of technology such as the Internet.
In Florida, the Sentinel filed a request to view the Earnhardt photos as part of an investigation it was conducting into his death. The photos were sealed by a judge at the request of Earnhardt’s widow. An agreement by the Sentinel and Earnhardt’s family allowed an independent examiner to view the photos. The incident prompted Florida lawmakers to pass legislation denying public access to autopsy photos.
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