Funeral Director’s AIDS Policy Stuns Activists : Health: His acknowledgment that such deaths are referred to other mortuaries also surprises industry leaders.

A Lancaster funeral director’s refusal to handle AIDS-related deaths, disclosed last week, has stunned AIDS activists and industry leaders, who say this once-common policy is now rare--and is a violation of federal law.

The Antelope Valley-based Catalyst Foundation for AIDS Awareness and Care said last week that it had filed a complaint with the state Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers after learning about funeral director Jim Mumaw’s AIDS policy.

After the announcement, Mumaw confirmed that he refers AIDS-related deaths to other mortuaries because he is worried about becoming accidentally infected.

State regulators are still investigating the complaint. But a federal official said Wednesday that turning away an AIDS-related death violates the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We are investigating a handful of complaints against funeral homes which either won’t take the bodies of persons who have died of AIDS or who charge more to handle those persons,” said Myron L. Marlin, a spokesman for the U. S. Department of Justice in Washington.

Funeral directors “are simply not permitted to discriminate on the basis of a disability, which in this case would be AIDS,” Marlin said.

In the early to mid-1980s, when the disease was first widely recognized, some funeral directors turned away AIDS-related deaths or slapped on steep surcharges, industry leaders and AIDS activists say.

“It was a large problem early on in the epidemic,” said Bill Freeman, executive director of the National Assn. of People with AIDS. “But I haven’t heard of it frequently (in recent years).

“It’s pretty ugly when we think about it. It’s a sad day in America when we decide who we’re going to bury with dignity and who we’re not.”

Funeral directors say federal law now requires them to take precautions--such as using gloves, gowns and masks--while handling any human remains, regardless of the cause of death.

“Sometimes, you may not know when a person has a contagious disease,” said Andrea Waas, a spokeswoman for the 15,000-member National Funeral Directors Assn.

One recent study, financed by funeral directors in Chicago, found that the AIDS virus can live for nearly 22 hours after an infected person has died. Refrigeration of the body appeared to have no effect on how long the virus survived.

Funeral director Mumaw could not be reached for comment Wednesday regarding his refusal to handle AIDS-related deaths.

But in a prepared statement last week, he said, “I do not wish to become one of the small percentage of persons in my profession who will die from an accidental infection of the HIV virus.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has identified three HIV infections among morgue or mortuary employees that may be work-related.

Researchers do not know how or when the virus infected the workers. All three stated that they had not received a blood transfusion, shared a needle or engaged in sexual practices that could have exposed them to AIDS outside the workplace, said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the centers.

Industry leaders say the risk of infection is extremely low if the proper precautions are followed.

Nevertheless, a few funeral directors, such as Mumaw, continue to turn away AIDS-related deaths.

“I frankly am startled and shocked,” said B. J. Stiles, president of the Washington-based National Leadership Coalition on AIDS, when told about Mumaw’s policy. “It’s the first incident I’ve heard about from a funeral director in over three years.”

Stiles said the funeral industry in general has made significant strides in recent years after asking his organization and other AIDS groups for help in preparing pamphlets and guidelines concerning the disease.

“They (funeral industry) came to us with nuts-and-bolts questions, and they came to us with an open mind,” Stiles said. “They weren’t merely concerned about protecting their workers. They wanted to know what are the medical facts and what are their customers’ concerns.”

The move to improve the industry’s AIDS-related practices followed a period during which many abuses reportedly occurred.

During the mid-1980s, a number of New York City funeral homes refused to handle AIDS-related deaths, recalled Mark Senak, an AIDS Project Los Angeles spokesman who lived in New York at the time.

After fielding numerous complaints, the Gay Men’s Health Crisis organization took the matter to the city’s Human Rights Commission, which outlawed such discrimination, Senak said.

“We don’t disrespect a funeral director’s fear,” he said. “But when that fear causes one to act in an irrational manner, that’s when it becomes harmful.”

Years ago, some Los Angeles funeral homes also refused to handle AIDS-related deaths.

“There was such confusion that even some of the hospitals that released the bodies didn’t notify the funeral homes that it was an AIDS case,” recalled Irving Glasband, president of the Los Angeles County Funeral Directors Assn. “We were unprepared--and shocked to find out it was AIDS after we had handled it without special precautions.”

Funeral directors say they now handle every body as though a contagious disease is present. “Everybody’s a potential carrier,” said LeeRoy Halley, an Antelope Valley funeral director. “Lifestyle has nothing to do with it.”

Halley added, “I remember when typhoid fever was so bad. Doctors still worked on those patients, despite the risks to their health. I would not turn anyone down because of the disease they had.”

In 1991, the board of governors of the National Funeral Directors Assn. adopted a policy stating that their members should “make their professional services completely available to all, regardless of the cause of death or possible health hazards.”

The group has also warned that refusing to provide service or imposing a surcharge because of a contagious disease invites legal problems under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

None of the Justice Department’s investigations concerning possible funeral home violations has been completed. But Marlin, the agency’s spokesman, said a judge could order a business owner who violates the Americans with Disabilities Act to end the discriminatory practices and pay monetary damages.

Neil Fippin, interim executive officer of the state Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, said Wednesday that his agency is still trying to decide how to handle the complaint concerning Mumaw.

“I am not aware of any portion of the state funeral board law which covers this situation,” he said. “We fully intend to investigate the case thoroughly and seek help from our attorneys to determine whether there has been a violation of any other state or federal law.”

If Mumaw’s policy breaks any laws, the board “will determine whether the situation falls under the category of unprofessional conduct and whether it merits discipline under that law,” Fippin said.

The penalties can range from a fine to a suspension of the funeral home’s license.

“If we do not have the legal basis,” Fippin said, “the board may have to look at future legislation.”