Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure § 49A.202
This is the official text of Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure § 49A.202, part of Texas’s Code of Criminal Procedure — sets the procedural rules for criminal cases in Texas.
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§ 49A.202. INFORMED CONSENT TO POSTMORTEM EXAMINATION OR AUTOPSY REQUIRED.
Official statutory text
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a physician may not perform, or assist in the performance of, a postmortem examination or autopsy on the body of a deceased person unless the physician obtains the written informed consent of a person authorized to provide consent under Article 49A.203. The consent must be provided on the form prescribed under Article 49A.204.
(b) If, after exercising due diligence, a physician is unable to identify or contact a person authorized under Article 49A.203 to give consent to a postmortem examination or autopsy on the body of a deceased person, the physician may perform the examination or autopsy. The physician must:
(1) be authorized by a medical examiner, justice of the peace, or county judge, as appropriate, to perform the postmortem examination or autopsy; and
(2) perform the postmortem examination or autopsy not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours from the time:
(A) of the deceased person's death; or
(B) the physician or other person took possession of the body.
(b) If, after exercising due diligence, a physician is unable to identify or contact a person authorized under Article 49A.203 to give consent to a postmortem examination or autopsy on the body of a deceased person, the physician may perform the examination or autopsy. The physician must:
(1) be authorized by a medical examiner, justice of the peace, or county judge, as appropriate, to perform the postmortem examination or autopsy; and
(2) perform the postmortem examination or autopsy not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours from the time:
(A) of the deceased person's death; or
(B) the physician or other person took possession of the body.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
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