Bodies in Plastic

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

[Coleus]

---

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

---

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.

[Unmarked Package]

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

I understand your viewpoint.

However, I have some exposure working with amazingly realistic simulated anatomical models and real human cadavers and have seen how students react to both for the first time. Invariably, the respect, reverence and appreciation for the human cadaver were apparent whereas students would often joke around with the simulated models.

Personally, when viewing an anatomical simulation my mind is constantly thinking, and feeling, this is as Man created it. When studying a real human cadaver I feel in my soul this is as God created us. There is a huge difference in the emotional and spiritual reaction to the two experiences for most people.

In my opinion, the Body Worlds exhibit is intended to be as much a spiritual experience as it is educational.

[aligncare]

You present an interesting perspective. If I understand, it's the knowledge that they are actual humans that give the display it's emotional impact. Good point.

I also had human dissection in med school...it was endlessly fascinating.

[CalGOPTom]

Technically, the process they use is plastic. Essentially, the water and fat in cells and tissue is drawn out and replaced with various types of polymers and dyes, down to the cellular level. It's sort of like mummification or fossilization.

They have one interesting part of the Body Worlds exhibit with several specimens of just the circulatory system. They plastinated complete circulatory systems, from the aorta and vena cavae down to the capillaries, and removed all of the overlying tissue, leaving complete circulatory systems as they were laid out within the body.

Personally, if the donors were willing to leave their remains for this purpose, I think that it is very educational and illustrative of the workings of the body. If one finds it offensive, as always, one need not visit such an exhibit.

[Krankor]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052655/plotsummary

[raybbr]

ping

[The Duke]

My God what a coincidence - I was just thinking of that movie as I was reading these posts. When I was a kid, watching it on "Fantastic Features" late at night (hosted by "Sivad") it really creeped me out!

[ShadowDancer]

I would go to see this in a minute.

[Armedanddangerous]

I was gonna point that out myself...thank you sir...

[pa_dweller]

FWIW, the 'plasticization' process is outlined in Stiff.

Lots of other 'uses' for the deceased too.

[ALASKA]

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...

Nope, I didn't miss it, actually that was one of the most fascinating. It was amazing to see the size of the entirety of our skins. It wasn't ghoulish, but you'd need to SEE it to know that...........wouldn't you.

[pennboricua]

We are as near to the end of times as we could possibly be, we have no respect for the dead nor those about to be born no matter if they are healthy or not,
Newborn are dumped into garbage, our elder are kept in closets
to collect their pension, our daughters are turning into prostitutes and featured on girls gone wild and no one bats an eye, man have sex with one another and both homosexual and lesbians lifestyle are commonplace,
Man I am ready for God to tear down this creation and start anew.

[jackel09]

I'm with DB and Brad. When Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry had this exhibit I refused to go and let them know that it is ghoulish and immoral.

[nevergore]

"Man I am ready for God to tear down this creation and start anew."

Okay Dr. Depresso....go end it all....but don't forget to donate your body to the exhibit....

I'd like to see it on display....

[CalvaryJohn]

-- And in the fifteenth century you would have been against Leonardo's drawings made from dissections.

[WorkingClassFilth]

BTTT.

[bboop]

I've seen them too. I thot it was sick. Ghoulish. Macabre.

[Barnacle]

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

With these poses, it strikes me as more entertainment first.

Whatever, the upside of this is, I see a pragmatically dehumanizing downside.

Human bodies as art objects? Our culture has slipped a quantum level the day this is acceptable.

[NTegraT]

I have refused to see it too. Grandkids and daughter-in-law saw it and thought it was remarkable.

As for making these totally out of plastic instead of actual human bodies, NO ONE would go see it if it weren't from humans. That's the gimmick.

For me, he's a GHOUL.

[Jotmo]

Actually I have seen it, or something exactly like it (I don't recall the name, but I can’t imagine there’s more than one.) at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland. I didn't make it through much of it..

Educational? Certainly. Fascinating? Most definitely, in a ghoulish sort of way.

But for the creator to pretend that this is simply about education for him stretches the bounds of credibility.

There are many things that have been done to people throughout history that were certainly "educational", but sick, twisted and evil all the same.

Don't go knee jerking now, I'm not saying this display is evil. Just pointing out that because something is educational, it is not a justification for anything goes. And education is the main...no, the only defense brought to bear in support of this.

The fact that they are displayed in the manner that they are, had to involve some "artistic expression" (Man with skin over arm is ONE example.) And using human bodies for art, it just plain sick and creepy in my book.

All that said, I certainly wouldn't think bad of anyone that wanted to see it. It's something that will appeal to many, and that doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with them. They just have a higher tolerance for such things.

But you must admit, that much of the attraction to this display is a sort of fascination with things that are in some ways "ghoulish and tawdry".

[bvw]

Abuse of corpse. The same thing -- education-wise -- can be done with plastic models, rather than the actual once-living person.

But plastic models do not fulfill the voyeuristic impulse many here have already shown.