Stop Bodyworlds 2! Treat
the human body with dignity! Starting July 30, 2006,
the Boston Museum of Science will presenting “Body worlds 2
The Anatomical Exhibition of Real human Bodies.”
What is it? 200 specimens that have been sliced, diced, freeze dried,
coated in plastic. There is just one problem. They are not
“specimens.” They are human bodies.
Want
to help? Go Here.
Join me when I picket at the museum. I will be there at 11 AM
on
Monday July 31st. The exhibit will have opened the previous day, and it
is possible the news media will be in attendance. Five or ten people
will make a bigger impact than one person. Bring poster
board.
This exhibit shows profound disrespect for the human body and
condition. I urge the Museum to reconsider its having the
exhibit in light of this. I saw the exhibit in Cleveland last summer,
and have been uneasy about it ever since. The macabre process
is definitely fascinating. However,
just because
something can be done does not mean it should be done.
The fact the people have donated their bodies is irrelevant. They have
surrendered their right to privacy, but it is not in their power to
surrender their right to dignity. It is incumbent on us the
living to treat the dead with dignity, no matter what the
“subjects” may have intended or
authorized. It is our moral duty to treat the dead with
dignity and it is our right to expect our remains to be treated the
same way. Certainly, there is nothing dignified in dying. Death,
however, conveys its own dignity. Out of respect to ourselves
we should respect those who have preceded us.
This exhibit has a veneer of science, or even pseudo-science about it.
In fact this is just a cover for a display of technical
virtuosity. This so-called scientific purpose cannot hide the
fact of an unmerciful assault on the dignity of the dead. The
dead cannot thank us for treating their bodies with dignity; this does
not absolve us of the responsibility to do so.
The exhibit contains a lot of lightly veiled propaganda to justify
itself, and to convince people to donate their bodies to the
cause. The exhibit is more about show business and about
money, than about science. If it was about science, should
not the countervailing view be mentioned? I did not see any
sign that the exhibit might be questionable in Cleveland.
This exhibit could have been virtually identical without using actual
bodies. Since this is the case, the use of bodies adds
nothing but sensationalism. This is the crux of my argument.
The unnecessary use of bodies is a desecration, and means the exhibit
is actually about the process of preserving and displaying.
Any claim that the exhibit is about health or education is fraudulent.
I call on Museum of Science members as well as the general public to
ask the leadership of the Museum to reconsider giving a home to this
travesty. Please contact the Museum to make your views known.
We need to demand that our leading institutions pay heed, and not just
lip service, to the ethical implications of their work, or their
exhibits.
Boston is civilized. Boston is thoughtful. Boston knows better. Boston
deserves better.
