A Connecticut woman is suing Hackensack University Medical Center, alleging the hospital moved her dead son’s remains and later performed an unauthorized autopsy in violation of her religious beliefs and explicit instructions.

The 34-year-old says in court papers that she underwent an induced labor of her stillborn son at the North Jersey hospital on September 28, 2022, following the discovery by doctors of a congenital condition that ensured the child would not survive birth .

The woman and her husband, who are Jewish, refused to authorize an autopsy based on both their religious beliefs and the known cause of their son’s death.

Despite her clear refusal, an autopsy was performed months later, according to the lawsuit filed in August in U.S. District Court.

Representatives of Hackensack University Medical Center, which is part of the Hackensack Meridian Health network, did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit Thursday and Friday.

The woman signed a consent form allowing only a basic examination of her child’s remains without a full autopsy, according to the lawsuit.

After leaving the hospital, the woman trusted that her son’s remains would be treated according to his wishes and respectfully disposed of within four weeks.

It wasn’t until July 2023, nearly a year after her son’s birth, that she accidentally learned the hospital had performed an autopsy without her consent, court papers allege.

A subsequent investigation revealed that the hospital moved the child’s body to the morgue for several months because of its small size, delaying any action until February 2023, according to the lawsuit.

In June 2023, Hackensack University Medical Center hired a fetal pathologist, and by July the unauthorized autopsy was performed, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges professional negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress, citing the hospital’s failure to properly store, locate and respect her son’s body, as well as their violation of his religious and personal wishes.

The mishandling of her son’s remains and the unauthorized autopsy caused the woman severe emotional trauma, the lawsuit alleges.