In the modern United States, individual value systems for human remains conflict with institutional value systems for human remains, and preempt the final wishes of the deceased and the bereaved. The study presents contexts that cast remains as mundane objects or people, but they are also regarding as spiritual objects, or combinations of the three. Factors that contribute to the objectification of human remains, the ways objectification of the deceased affects public policy and lawmaking, and some effects of the previous points on American mortuary culture receive the most attention.;The first half of this study shows how technology, language, cultural heritage institutions, and medical science objectify remains and create ontological understandings that conflict with the opinion that remains are people. The second half demonstrates how objectification of human remains is enforced in mortuary law and policy. This is accomplished through case studies of US death-care facilities and the application of statutory, common, and regulatory law in modern funerary contexts. Ultimately this study encourages public conversation about changing American mortuary practices and policies.
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