In Texas, you have the legal right to:
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Own property
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Drive
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Get married
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Possess firearms, and more
Water cremation, also known as aquamation and alkaline hydrolysis, uses liquid (95% water, 5% alkali solution), elevated heat, and water to break the chemical bonds that hold the body’s proteins together. This process directly replicates the effect of naturally occurring decomposition of traditional earthen burials.
At the end of this process, the body has been returned to its constituent elements – amino acids, peptides, sugars and salts – suspended in the water. Similar to flame-based cremation, there is no DNA to link back to the person and the only solid remains are the bones, which are then pulverized and returned to the family as remains.
Water cremation has already been legalized in 28 states, including nearby states of Oklahoma, New Mexico and Missouri, as well as Florida and Arizona. For the complete list, visit the US Funerals website.
As part of the 88th legislative session (spring 2023), Senator Nathan Johnson’s Senate Bill 105 (S.B. 105) filed November 14, 2022 was discussed in committee hearing on March 7. On February 27, 2023, Representative Ann Johnson of Harris County filed H.B. 2895. Both bills seek to amend the definition of cremation under Texas state law to include water cremation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, as a choice for all Texans. This is the third legislative motion to expand Texans’ rights to choose their preferred method of disposal of remains. Water cremation is currently a legal option for citizens in 28 states.
Both S.B. 105 and H.B. 2895 read identical:
“’Cremation’ means the irreversible process of reducing human remains to essential elements, including bone fragments, through direct flame, extreme heat, and evaporation or through alkaline hydrolysis.”
When will Texas have the same freedoms that exist in 28 States?
HUMANS
PETS
Over the past two decades, Americans have been actively seeking alternative forms of burial and cremation than traditional forms of burial and cremation. As more options arise, individuals deserve the freedom to select what is most meaningful to them for something as personal as death. The rate of disposition by flame cremation in the U.S. continues to increase, reaching 57% of total dispositions in 2021, up from 25% in 1999. National cremation rate is projected to be 71% by 2030.
Texas should be a leader in offering end-of-life planning options for its citizens, but instead lags behind the majority of the country in authorizing more modern means of body disposition. Senate Bill 105 will update Texas law to align with the more than 28 other states that have authorized Alkaline Hydrolysis.
If accessibility to different forms of disposition were available in Texas, we could have avoided considerable hardship Texans endured during the pandemic, from wait times at funeral homes to businesses being overrun. Let’s give Texans the economic freedom they have grown to expect.
Eric Neuhaus, founder of Green Cremation Texas
Sen. Nathan Johnson, Texas Senator
One universal experience every person on this planet will experience is death. So what do you want to happen to your body after you die?
If your response is cremation, you are not alone. In recent years, cremation has become the most common method of post-mortem body disposition, growing from around 34% in 2006 to 57.5% of the roughly 3.4 million Americans who died in 2021, according to the Cremation Association of North America.
Cremation is the process of turning body to bone, then bone to cremated remains. Ashes is a misnomer – there are no ashes – it’s pulverized bone. That end result is the same product for flame or water.
Water cremation, also known as aquamation and alkaline hydrolysis, uses liquid (95% water, 5% alkali solution), elevated heat, and water to break the chemical bonds that hold the body’s proteins together. This process directly replicates the effect of naturally occurring decomposition of traditional earthen burials.
At the end of this process, the body has been returned to its constituent elements – amino acids, peptides, sugars and salts – suspended in the water. Similar to flame-based cremation, there is no DNA to link back to the person and the only solid remains are the bones, which are then pulverized and returned to the family as remains.
Water cremation has already been legalized in 28 states, including nearby states of Oklahoma, New Mexico and Missouri, as well as Florida and Arizona. For the complete list, visit the US Funerals website.
A small group of people within Texas is controlling a universal right of life – your right to have options regarding the disposition of your own body. Families deserve the right to select a method of disposing of remains in a way they deem respectful, and no group’s opinion should dictate public policy for everyone.
Currently, there are companion bills in the House and Senate, H.B. 2895 and S.B. 105 seeking to legalize alkaline hydrolysis in Texas. To show your support for these bills, sign our petition on change.org.
Water cremation uses 90-92% less energy than flame cremation. It does require heating the water, but uses significantly less energy. There’s also ZERO carbon output from the process. In comparison, flame cremation for one body is equivalent to the natural gas needed to power a single-family home. The carbon output is equivalent to a 1,000-mile road trip.
URGENT CALL TO ACTION: LEGALIZE AQUAMATION IN TEXAS
SB105 has been filed by Senator Nathan Johnson (District 16, Dallas County) to clarify the legality of alkaline hydrolysis, a greener alternative to cremation, in Texas, also known as water cremation. Please email Texas Senators and the Senate Committee members who have the power to pass this bill and legalize water cremation in Texas by MONDAY, April 24th, to let them know why you support more sustainable death care choices, and the freedom to choose a form of disposition that’s meaningful to you and your family.
STEP 1: EMAIL THE FOLLOWING SENATORS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. CLICK ON NAME FOR EMAIL.
(list of names as provided here with hyperlinks)
STEP 2: USE THIS TEMPLATE TO CREATE YOUR EMAIL. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR HEARTFELT REASONS FOR
WANTING AQUAMATION! SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS CAN BE FOUND BELOW/HERE.
Dear [REPRESENTATIVE OR SENATOR],
I am writing to ask that you consider SB105, clarifying the legality of alkaline hydrolysis, a greener alternative to cremation,
in Texas, also known as water cremation.
This legislation is important to me because [SHARE YOUR REASONS HERE]
Thank you for your consideration,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
© 2023 Green Cremation Texas.