Coroners Act 2006, ss 33–35
They may be able to in some cases, by lodging an objection with the coroner and then, if necessary, going to the High Court.
Any member of the immediate family has a right to object to a post-mortem, except if:
the coroner has decided an immediate post-mortem is needed because a delay would make it harder to find out the cause of death, or
it seems the death was caused by a criminal act.
Family members have 24 hours to object after the coroner notifies them of the post-mortem order. If they object but the coroner still wants to go ahead with the post-mortem, the coroner has to notify the family of this intention. The family then has 48 hours to take their objection to the High Court.
The High Court has to deal with the objection urgently. You’ll need a lawyer to file an objection in the High Court. Legal Aid is available for this (see the chapter, “Legal Aid and other legal help”).