Composting Humans

January 26, 2024

Nandi Randolph

There were a few bills this week that went through of interest, but I want to focus on two: HCR 79 and HS 1 for HB 162.

HCR 79 is equal parts confusion and patronization. It marks Jan. 23rd as “Maternal Health Awareness Day.” Merriam-Webster defines ‘maternal’ as “of, relating to, belonging to, or characteristic of a mother.“ Despite the very clear reference to the mother, HCR 79 becomes beyond confusing and ultimately patronizing because it avoids every opportunity to say mother in the actual bill itself. Instead, we see the term ‘birthing person’ used in place of mother … in a bill to supposedly recognize the ‘maternal.’ While maternal was easy to find in the dictionary, ‘birthing person’ has yet to make its way to Merriam-Webster. In this instance, we ought to take a page out of Merriam-Webster’s book and leave ‘birthing persons’ out of it, literally. Yes, lets celebrate maternal health. Let’s celebrate mothers.

Now for HS 1 for HB 162, the bill to allow human composting in DE. Firstly, all humans are made in the image of God, a concept referred to as Imago Dei. It is this inherent value that is foundational to a Biblical worldview on human life. We stand to protect the preborn because they are beings uniquely created worthy of respect and full of value. We stand against assisted suicide and euthanasia because the value of human life is not diminished by disease or disability, they are still worthy of value and protection. Secondly, compost is considered a “mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter.” It is typically made up of plant and food scraps, and manure –items that would typically be discarded as trash.

As image bearers of the Living God, humans are in a different class altogether than the items that would be found in your typical compost. It is with this understanding that laws have historically been issued to punish the desecration of a dead body and promote respectful burial practices. Washington started the trend of legalizing human composting in the US in 2019. Delaware is on the path to becoming the 8th state to legalize, passing HS 1 for HB 162 this Tuesday with only two voting against it (Rep. Rich Collins (R) & Rep. Charlie Postles (R)) and one choosing to simply not vote at all (Rep. Stell Parker Selby (D).

What do these two bills have in common?

John Stonestreet made a very pivotal statement this week on Breaking Point, “ideas can have a major impact on culture. This is especially evident in the modern to postmodern shift from an objective and verifiable understanding of truth to a subjective and socially constructed understanding of truth.” Both HCR 79 and HS 1 for HB 162 act as representations of ideas that can and will have a major impact on Delaware culture. The idea in HCR 79 erases women, avoiding the very gender-specific term of ‘mother,’ a term that can only be bestowed to a woman. Meanwhile, the idea present at the root of HS 1 for HB 162 cultivates a pantheistic view of the human experience, diminishing it down to the sum of our chemical building blocks.

Our culture isn’t in the shape that it’s in currently at random. Ideas have been introduced and accepted that have consequently impacted our culture. What ideas are you introducing into the culture around you? When our minds are renewed in Christ, we will infuse the culture around us with that “ good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

ANNOUNCEMENT:

There will be no Session this week as a select amount of legislators meet for the Joint Finance Committee. You can view the JFC hearings HERE. These hearings are important because the state budget for the year is formed during them.

Nandi Randolph
Policy Analyst