Bodies...The Exhibit

BODIES...The Exhibit was very interesting, though I didn't realize there is actually a lot of controversy over it.

It seems that many people are saying that since these are "found" bodies, the scientists had no right to preserve them or display them in this manner. Though Dr. Roy Glover, chief medical director of the University of Michigan Medical School Polymer Preservation Laboratory, who serves as the spokesman for the exhibit, "... said that everything in the exhibit was done legally, ethically and respectfully." according to an article posted in the Miami Herald.com titled, "Controversial 'Bodies' exhibit looks into preserved cadavers" which was posted Sunday, November 25, 2007.

Wikipedia has this to say about the controversy.

Here is what National Geographic News had to say in the article Cadaver Exhibition Draws crowds, Controversy in Florida, written by John Roach in August of 2005.

In Crowds, Controversy Follow exhibits of Human Corpses, here is what Nancy Chandross reported for ABC News online in the Science and Technology section in August of 2005.

In Washington Post.com article entitled Anatomy of a Controversy that circulated in August of 2005, here's what Mitch Stacy, of the APS has to say.

In this article titled "Bodies Exhibit Causing Controversy" posted on nbc4.com on April 12, 2007, Glover is quoted again.

In the Miami Herald.com, here is the most recent article I found at a glance titled, Controversial 'Bodies' Exhibit looks into preserved cadavers, written by Robert Santiago and posted on Sunday, November 25, 2007.

There's plenty more to find if you simply "Google" the exhibit. I tried to present a balanced view, but--though I'll admit I've done the research at a glance--it was difficult to find information from both sides of the fence.

I invite you to read, research on your own beyond what I've posted, and make up your own mind.

I may see if my parents are interested in going so I can get their take on it. My mother has a nursing background, and my father, now a retired college professor, has a variety of interests in the science field. He attended a year of medical school before deciding to switch over to education, and then spent some time teaching high school chemistry while attending the University of Morgantown to earn his master's degree (I was born in Morgantown, WV, so I have a real soft spot for the place. :) ), and later attended the University of Pittsburgh for his Ph.D.

I remember how my dad talked about some of the experiences he had at all of these places, but the memory that stood out today was about how he worked with cadavers when he was in medical school. Later, when he was teaching at Slippery Rock University in the biology department, he taught courses such as Anatomy and Physiology, Cytotechnology, Cell Biology and others. I remember hiking along with him to collect salamanders at a creek in the country near where I grew up some thirty years ago so that his students could dissect them. I can only imagine what a stir that would cause these days. With everyone having an opinion on everything these days, I'm not even sure that would be legal anymore.

Anyone who took high school biology has probably dissected a frog. I did. I learned from it too. In my college chemistry class, we dissected guinea pigs. I learned again. I'm not equating human beings with animals--only the learning process that arises from exploration.

I also remember attending two autopsies as part of my training for lab work when I was a student years ago. I learned an enormous amount of information from the pathologists who dissected those bodies during those two experiences. I've never forgotten what the inside of an occluded heart vessel looks like, and I've also never forgotten the sectioning of a human brain, in the second autopsy, that revealed a stroke.

Incidentally, they have an example of a stroke displayed at BODIES...The Exhibit. Took me back a few years.

Anyway, the point is that people learn from discovering and exploring. Imagine all the lives that would be LOST if it weren't for research and experiments done on the human body. Years ago, before it was even a hot issue in politics, I did an essay on fetal stem cell research. If governed properly, there are huge benefits from this work. You may not even realize that you know someone today who is living because of the efforts and progress made in the medical research field. The key terms here, of course, are if governed properly. I'd like to make that clear because, although I believe there is good to be revealed from stem cell research, I'm not in any way shape or form condoning abortion. That's a whole different subject and I draw the line at opening that can of worms for this discussion, so I'll simply stress that the laws need to be governed properly.

So, who gets to decide the laws? Supposedly we have a voice, but in the end, its the politicians we elect whose beliefs are reflected in our laws. And who determines the meaning of the word "proper"? Again, the politicians we elect. Do you vote?

Well, in the case of the exhibit, we may be talking about global policies, but I believe the main point in the controversy over this exhibition is more about the way in which the bodies were obtained, rather than the value they hold as a learning tool. The issue can get sticky, but I encourage everyone to keep an open mind. If they were obtained legally, as claimed, and someone has a problem with the laws that allowed this to happen, then my belief is that the complaints should fall at the political doorstep rather than in the educational field.

Changing times and beliefs seem to often be responsible for revisions in laws. I mean really, if someone can get upset enough to strip Santa of his HO-HO-HO, then why can't the laws be revised to protect the rights of deceased human beings if indeed their rights were violated?

Anyway, its all food for thought and that's my two cents FWIW.

I'm getting back to my studies this evening. Final exam time is here. I hope everyone has a wonderful week. I'll see you next post.

Lee