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The purpose of this Act is to define Austenasian law on the subjects of abortion, euthanasia, the treatment of a body after death, and declarations of presumed death.
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Paragraphs 4 and 10 of XXXIV Dec. I 2012 (Homicide) are hereby repealed, and replaced with Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this same Act, respectively.
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In regards to Paragraphs 3 and 6 of XXXIV Dec. I 2012 (Homicide) and Paragraph 15 of II Jon. I 2013, “unlawful killing of a homo sapiens” is hereby defined as committing an action not excluded from unlawfulness by Paragraph 4 of this same Act which is an effective and more than a minimal cause of the death of a human being, or – if there is a contractual duty, a duty because of a relationship (e.g. parent-child), a duty which has been taken on voluntarily, or a duty which one automatically assumes after creating circumstances of a dangerous nature (e.g. accidentally starting a fire but failing to warn others in the building or contact the fire service) – a failure to act when one has a duty to do so which is an effective and more than a minimal cause of the death of a human being, neither case including a scenario whereby an enemy combatant is killed during a state of war. “Human being” in this particular context does not include a homo sapiens with total necrosis of the cerebral neurons following loss of brain oxygenation (brain death) and/or an irreversible cessation of heartbeat and breathing (cardiopulmonary death), and unborn homo sapiens less than 20 weeks from conception who were conceived by rape, have a condition which means that they are almost certain not to survive outside the womb once born, and/or by a mother for whom to give birth would be most likely life-threatening, the latter two conditions requiring confirmation from a doctor of medicine. [This paragraph has been replaced – see CLX Jon. I 2021, Paragraph 3]
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It shall not be considered a crime to withhold medical treatment at the express request of a patient even if doing so is likely to result in the death of said patient, unless said patient is suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning which substantially impairs their ability to make a rational decision and/or to understand the nature of their conduct.
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Upon the death of a person, the right of transporting the body, arranging a funeral or similar ritual, and of burying, cremating, or otherwise disposing of the body is jointly held by the immediate family of the deceased. Should a dispute arise as to the exercise of these rights, a magistrate shall intervene and decide what should be done.
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All deaths must be reported to the Home Office, in order that the Census may be updated. Should there be no proof of a person’s death – that is, should the location of bodily remains be unknown – they may be declared to be presumed dead by a magistrate should the person in question have been missing with no evidence of their being alive for seven years, or if the disappearance of a person was in circumstances which overwhelmingly support the belief that the person has died (e.g., an aeroplane crash). A declaration of presumed death shall result in that person being considered legally dead under Austenasian law, and can be reversed only upon the person in question being presented alive before a magistrate, who shall decide what actions must be taken in regards to the situation.
