Autopsy reports about the deaths of minors will no longer be made public, under a controversial bill making its way through the Colorado statehouse.
Despite long being available through the Colorado Open Records Act – which exempts other kinds of personal medical records from public scrutiny – autopsy reports for minors will soon be confidential, if the bill becomes law.
Only some details from those reports – including the name, age, race, and cause of death of the child – will remain available to the public, unless the child dies while in the care or custody of a government agency, in which case the full report would be released by the local county coroner.
Last Tuesday (April 16), House Bill 24-1244 was passed by the state Senate on a 34-0 vote, sending it back to the House to consider amendments.
Under the current version of the bill, an autopsy report prepared in connection with the death of a minor “is not a public record” as defined in CORA.
Only parents, legal guardians, law enforcement agencies and other parties designated by the bill, would have access to the full reports. For the public and news media to obtain those reports, a judge would have to determine that disclosure “substantially outweighs any harm to the privacy interests of the deceased” and family members.
The bill is supported by crime victims including the mother of 17-year-old Riley Whitelaw, murdered at a Colorado Springs Walgreens in 2022, who says confidentiality is needed to protect the privacy of grieving families.
“The release of Riley’s autopsy and the information shared by news and social media has forever negatively impacted my life, my family and Riley’s friends,” said Courtenay Whitelaw, Riley’s mother.
However, media organization and child-protection advocates have strenuosity argued that autopsy reports of minors should remain open.
“Without it, this measure would sanction failing, neglecting and abusing children to death in secrecy to protect the privacy of the people and systems who let those children down,” said Channel 9 investigative reporter Kevin Vaughan recently told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The legislature tried to seal autopsy reports on minors in 2018, but then-Gov. John Hickenlooper vetoed the bill, writing that “sunshine on uncomfortable and painful topics such as youth deaths can lead to more positive outcomes for other youths.”
