Demonstrably flimsy and absurd as the justifications for universal embalming and “viewing” may have been, these patently fraudulent claims of undertakers for their product remained immune from government intervention until 1984, when the Federal Trade Commission’s funeral rules were adopted. These provided, among other things, that: It is a deceptive act or practice for a funeral provider to: • Represent that state or local law requires that a deceased person be embalmed when such is not the case; • Fail to disclose that embalming is not required by law except in certain special cases.
