Sorry for this rather morbid question, there is a valid reason for asking and seeing you lot know so much I thought of asking

Is there a legal protection in this country to prevent a post mortem being done on religious grounds under any circumstances, I have been asked this by a (very) concerned relative and can only find that a relatives wished may still be over ruled by the coroner. Is this right?

below is taken from procedures I think for medical staff, note the bit right at the bottom...

If the Doctor is able to issue a death certificate but, for medical interest reasons, wishes for a hospital post mortem to be carried out s/he must ask permission of the next of kin. The post mortem can only be carried out when written consent is available. The next of kin may refuse, in which case a post mortem will NOT be performed. Permission maybe given for a limited post mortem only (for example removal of the heart for investigation if a patient died of heart disease) or perhaps only needle biopsies of particular organs. If the doctor is unsure of the cause of death and cannot issue a death certificates / he has to report it to the Coroners Officer who will then decide whether a coroner’s post-mortem is necessary. In such cases the next of kin will not be asked for their permission

A post mortem examination ordered by a coroner to determine the cause of death cannot be refused on any grounds. This would only be ordered in cases of sudden unexpected death, when the deceased had not been under the care of a doctor during the final illness, when the deceased had been under the care of a doctor but he/she was uncertain of the cause of death or if there were any suspicious circumstances.
Hospitals will often ask the relatives for a postmortem for study/information/educational purposes even though the cause of death is known and in this situation the relatives may refuse consent for any reason whatsoever.

You can imagine a situation where someone is murdered by next of kin. They're ( NOK :-) )unlikely to agree to a post mortem.

So Coroner probably justifiably has the say as to whether it will be carried out.

I unfortunately had to deal with just this situation recently - coroners decision is final, & it's all about unexpected death ie when they aren't already being seen by the doctor for a life threatening condition, age, religion & everything else has no bearing on it. Sorry!

ok, thanks guys that answers that.

makes sence

cheers.