LANCASTER : Mortician Defends Policy of Refusing AIDS Victims
A Lancaster funeral director defended his decision not to handle bodies of people who died of AIDS.
Jim Mumaw, 38, said Friday he has called the state Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers on several occasions regarding his policy, and was told his policy was legal.
The Catalyst Foundation for AIDS Awareness and Care announced last week that it had filed complaints with state and federal officials against the Mumaw Funeral Home.
The U.S. Department of Justice said the refusal to handle AIDS cases violates the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, which forbids discrimination against people with AIDS, their families and close associates.
Mumaw said he was not familiar with the law.
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