Non-forensic autopsies are in decline, particularly in the case of deaths outside hospital, despite the fact that they are a crucial consideration for screening among relatives of a person who died sud!denly. The findings suggest that there needs to be an improvement in practice, a fact made possible by recent legislative developlments in France. A number of initiatives have been successful arId give hope that, like the reference centers specializing in unexpected infant deaths, reference centers specializing in sudden de'aths, which allow for more systematic non-forensic autopsies ofadults who die suddenly, might be created.