California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation September 18 making “recomposting” an approved method for disposing of human corpses in the Golden State. The bill was sponsored by Southern California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia. The bill was opposed by the California Catholic Conference, though one would be hard-pressed to find its statement or the reasons for its opposition on its website. “Recomposting,” currently legal in Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, involves storing a dead body in a heated container with biodegradable materials, including wood chips and alfalfa. After about 45 days, the resultant fluid and mass can be used as “nutrient-dense soil…[that] can then be returned to families or donated to conservation land,” proclaims a Los Angeles Times writer. Why should we oppose human “recomposting”? Because it inherently devalues the human person by human beings actively choosing to break down the difference between a person and a thing… (READ MORE)

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