by Bob Butz's

You can home school your children.  You can have a home birth.  You can send an aging parent to a nursing home or, if you chose, take care of them yourself.

“You don’t have to hire an accountant to do your taxes.  And even if you’re sick and dying you can still refuse to go to the hospital,” says Wendy Lyons, President of the Funeral Consumers Information Society.  “So why does Michigan mandate that families must hire a funeral director?”

The question is simple:

Who does your body and those of your loved ones belong to after death?

In Michigan, a good argument could be made that the real answer is "the state."

Michigan is one of only six states that legally challenge the rights of families to care for their own dead.  But now there are bills underway to change that.

On Sunday, April 18, the annual meeting of the Funeral Consumers Information Society will address how people can advocate for the passing of these bills.

The FCIS is also looking for individuals who have an experience to tell that will help others understand the current obstacles Michigan law places on families and how they were detrimental to the final wishes of a loved one.

If you have a story or would simply like to attend, you can contact Wendy Lyons through the FCIS website by clicking here.  If you believe Michiganians should have the right to care for their own dead, if we choose, without being required by law to pay for the services of a funeral director, take a second to vote on the FCIS's on-line poll located at the bottom of their homepage.

The 49th Annual Meeting of the FCIS
2-4 p.m., Sunday, April 18
Swords Into Plowshares Peace Center and Gallery
33 East Adams Street
Detroit, MI 48226

FREE parking is available behind the center in the Central United Methodist Church parking lot.

Rep. Rebekah Warren, of the 53rd District, will speak about how to effectively advocate in Lansing. This meeting is a means of preparing our members and the public for our first Funeral Consumers Advocacy Day in Lansing in support of the upcoming funeral-consumer-rights legislation.