Bodies in Plastic

CERC ^ | 11.01.06 | Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D.

[Coleus]

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An exhibit called "Body Worlds" is currently touring the United States and generating some animated discussion in its wake.

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The bodies are posed, for example, as a rider on a horse, where the body of the horse is also plasticized. By removing skin and various layers of musculature to expose internal organs, it is possible to literally look inside the body and see its inner structure. In one exhibit, an expectant mother has been cross-sectioned to reveal her unborn child, while in another, a man has been peeled down to his musculature, and he carries his skin on his arm like an old raincoat. The exhibit is billed as an educational exhibit, teaching people about the internal structure and organization of their own bodies. As the director of the exhibit phrased it, "My aim is to illuminate and educate through the beautiful arrangement" of bodies. Yet some people find the exhibit "edgy", causing more than a tinge of discomfort, and they wonder whether there aren't ethical concerns associated with putting the human body on display in this way
 
One potential problem associated with such a display involves consent. In general, consent is very important, and should be sought for organ or bodily donation. Informed consent seems to be a recurrent theme in regards to this exhibition, since some of the bodies which have been on display in the past may not have had convincing documentation of informed consent. Several of the bodies may have originated from natural disasters in which the victims could not be identified. Hence, one can inquire whether all of the subjects really approved of their new "show business careers", or as one commentator, half tongue-in-cheek, mused about the matter: "Dear World: Please don't let them pump plastic into me and exhibit me naked, without half my skin, playing tennis. I hate tennis." Other issues regarding consent are worthy of consideration as well. Obtaining valid informed consent may not really be possible when children or infants in utero are put on display, even though it is true that medical schools and museums have a rather long history of preserving human fetuses and embryos in formaldehyde for teaching and educational purposes.
 
Obtaining consent from adults, on the other hand, is not necessarily a difficult proposition. The organizer of the Body Worlds exhibit claims that more than 6000 people have already signed the dotted line for their own future "plastination." Many individuals are happy to donate their bodies to science. I recall doing dissections as an undergraduate student in an anatomy and physiology class, using a cadaver from an elderly lady who had donated her body to science. Such donations are not morally problematic, and in fact are similar to organ donation. Such organ donation is not only permissible, but can be seen as a very generous act. As Pope John Paul II once put it: "A particularly praiseworthy example… is the donation of organs, performed in an ethically acceptable manner, with a view to offering a chance of health and even of life itself to the sick who sometimes have no other hope."
 
But what about the display of bodies where consent cannot be obtained? When dealing with situations like museums displaying ancient Egyptian mummies, or tourists observing the remains of believers in the catacombs under Rome, or archaeologists examining skeletal remains exhumed from digs, such consent can probably be presumed, assuming that certain conditions are met:

1. Their remains are not being used in a disrespectful manner;
    
2. There is an educational, spiritual or inspirational end being realized by the use of the remains;
    
3. There was no indication left by the individuals or their relatives explicitly stating that they did not want the remains to be used in this public service;
    
4. The death of the individual was not intentionally caused in order to procure the body or the tissues.

Whether the use of human bodies in Body Worlds will be acceptable will largely depend on intense discussion surrounding the first and second conditions. Are the bodies being posed provocatively or being made to engage in immoral activities while on display, or are they set up in respectable, fundamentally decent poses? Since it is a public display, are the actions represented appropriate for public viewing, including children? These are some of the further questions we may need to consider when trying to decide about the moral acceptability of such an exhibition. There may also need to be assurance that the bodies on display, or parts from those bodies that were removed during their preparation, will ultimately be properly disposed of either through burial or through cremation, as a sign of our respect for the remains of the dead."
 
The fact that the traveling cadaver exhibit has already drawn more than 18 million visitors worldwide indicates a deep-seated fascination with understanding our own bodies. One might even argue that such an exhibit could prompt some soul searching and further discussion of human frailty and the meaning of our own mortality. Along the same lines, an exhibit which reveals the human child in utero by a simple cutaway can serve to powerfully remind visitors about the reality of the pro-life message, namely that children in the womb are not "blobs of protoplasm" but are rather our brothers and sisters at an earlier developmental stage. In the words of one astute observer: "If young women had windows on their stomachs, so they could see into their own wombs, the number of abortions would decline drastically." The Body Worlds exhibit does seem to afford a unique opportunity to open a window onto the inner workings of the human body in a way that straddles the line between enlightening and edgy.  

Father Tad Pacholczyk writes a weekly column, Making Sense out of Bioethics, which appears in various diocesan newspapers across the country.  Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the diocese of Fall River, MA, and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org.

The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) has a long history of addressing ethical issues in the life sciences and medicine. Established in 1972, the Center is engaged in education, research, consultation, and publishing to promote and safeguard the dignity of the human person in health care and the life sciences. The Center is unique among bioethics organizations in that its message derives from the official teaching of the Catholic Church: drawing on the unique Catholic moral tradition that acknowledges the unity of faith and reason and builds on the solid foundation of natural law.  The Center's staff consults regularly on life science issues and medical issues with the Vatican, the U.S. bishops and public policy-makers, hospitals and international organizations of all faiths. Vatican agencies including the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pontifical Academy for Life and the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers consult with the Center to help formulate magisterial teaching.

The Center publishes two journals (Ethics & Medics and The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly) and at least one book annually on issues such as physician-assisted suicide, abortion, cloning, and embryonic stem cell research. The latest publication is an update of its Handbook on Critical Life Issues, which examines such topics as the theology of suffering, euthanasia, organ transplantation, and stem cell research.
Inspired by the harmony of faith and reason, the Quarterly unites faith in Christ to reasoned and rigorous reflection upon the findings of the empirical and experimental sciences. While the Quarterly is committed to publishing material that is consonant with the magisterium of the Catholic Church, it remains open to other faiths and to secular viewpoints in the spirit of informed dialogue.  Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. is a member of the advisory board of the Catholic Education Resource Center.

[FYREDEUS]

I've seen these...whatever else one might think about them they are amazingly educational.

[DB]

Call me old fashioned but I think it is sick.

[Brad from Tennessee]

["My aim is to illuminate and educate through the beautiful arrangement" of bodies.]

Anyone talented enough to create these "exhibits" out of human flesh should be talented enough achieve the same effect with plastic or some artificial medium. Maybe I'm just squeamish but I think this guy is a ghoul.

[pandoraou812]

I don't know what to think. But I do know I won't go see them or anything like that. I think its just not in good taste to do something like this to someone's body without consent . For those who consent to have their bodies put on display like this I find it morbid. What happens to these bodies when nobody wants them any longer. Do they get a burial or just dumped into a dumpster? I don't like seeing dead things in general so this just wouldn't be for me. Maybe its educational but I still wouldn't sign a class trip form for my child to see it. It is kind of strange.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Maybe I'm just squeamish but I think this guy is a ghoul.

GHOUL

That is exactly the word that came to mind when I read this.

[Jotmo]

while in another, a man has been peeled down to his musculature, and he carries his skin on his arm like an old raincoat

This statement here basically destroys the "It's for educational purposes" BS.

This is a twisted form of "artistic expression" for this freak.

[aligncare]

...you're old fashioned.

[Darth Republican]

Just one word, Ben....

[ALASKA]

I saw this in Chicago and it was incredible. Our bodies are just vehicles. To me, it was simply a fascinating car show. The educational factor was phenominal. Everything was done with respect and reverance..........nothing ghoulish or tawdry about it........

[monkapotamus]

Hehe

[aligncare]

You both have a point. Upon further consideration, we do have the knowledge of human anatomy and materials technology to have presented this educational exhibit using artificial materials...the exhibits use of cadavers is not in the context of training doctors.

[aroostook war]

Also featured in a scene from "Casino Royale."

[Jotmo]

nothing ghoulish or tawdry about it........

Perhaps you missed this one

"a man has been peeled down to his musculature, and he carries his skin on his arm like an old raincoat"

Nah. Nothing ghoulish or tawdry about that...

[Prospero]

This "art form" is derivative, arising from the work of a French madman, or one who might rightly have been called mad, late in 18th or early in the 19th century.

Nothing new or original about it, and one can hardly call it art, it is embalming, and that debate is at least 200 years old, also.

Some more resourceful Freeper will remember and name and link to the work of the person I'm speaking of.

[wideminded]

One of these shows is ending soon near here so I'm probably going to go see it tomorrow.

[Unmarked Package]

I happened to be at the Body Worlds exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science when school children were touring the exhibit. I was surprised and relieved at their reaction to the exhibit; one of fascination, awe, and amusement and nothing resembling fear or revulsion.

The adult patrons were having a bit more difficult time, maybe because they were imagining with if it were their family members or themselves on display. The children were more detached and objective, as if viewing a Disney Animatronix display.

I knew I would react favorably to the exhibit. The study of human anatomy and physiology is a particular interest of mine. I took Pre-Med courses as electives in college, some involving dissection of human cadavers, totally unrelated to my major in Engineering simply to satisfy my own curiosity.

I understand this is not everyone’s cup of tea and some will find it ghoulish, but the human body is such a marvelous creation. An exhibit like Body Worlds can change the minds of many in their estimation of the value of human life.

[DB]

Then manufacture it out of 100% plastic - not dead people.

[Chuck54]

Totally agree. I saw it in NYC earlier this year and thought it a truly amazing exhibit.

If it's near you, DO NOT miss it.