Florida Statute 872.06
“Abuse of a dead human body; penalty”
What it means
Section 872.06 covers three kinds of conduct: a person who mutilates, commits sexual abuse upon, or otherwise grossly abuses a dead human body commits a felony of the second degree. “Sexual abuse” is specifically defined in the section, in three categories of prohibited contact.
The exception is as important as the rule, and it is absolute in its own terms: an act done for a bona fide medical purpose or for any other lawful purpose does not, under any circumstance, violate the section. That single sentence is what separates an autopsy, an anatomical dissection, an embalming, and a lawful tissue recovery from a felony. The physical act can be identical — the authorization is the line.
- Mutilating, committing sexual abuse upon, or otherwise grossly abusing a dead human body: second-degree felony.
- “Sexual abuse” is defined in the statute — three specific categories of contact with a dead body.
- Exception: an act done for a bona fide medical purpose or for any other lawful purpose never violates the section.
- The exception makes consent paperwork decisive: the same procedure is lawful on valid authorization and a felony without it.
How it plays out
For families, this section matters through its exception. Autopsies under the medical examiner's authority, donation recoveries on a valid anatomical gift, and embalming a family authorized are all “lawful purpose” acts — the statute is not an obstacle to any of them. Where it has teeth is when consent was forged or never given: a recovery on fabricated paperwork loses the exception entirely. It is one reason we advise putting anatomical-gift decisions in signed documents rather than leaving institutions to guess what the decedent would have allowed.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 872.06 does real work:
