Exhibit using human bodies stirs curiosity, raises ethical questions

Published: 2006-07-07

ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- Visitors to an exhibit at a St. Paul museum displaying plastinated human bodies are immediately greeted with words from the Psalms. "What is man that thou shouldst remember him, mortal man that thou shouldst care for him? Yet thou has made him little less than God, him with glory and honor," proclaims one of the hanging banners at the display in the Science Museum of Minnesota's exhibit "Body Worlds." The exhibit, which opened May 5 and runs until Sept. 4, features anatomical displays of human bodies preserved through a process called plastination. "Body Worlds" has generated controversy since its 1996 opening in Tokyo. For starters, there is the general discomfort with human remains being displayed publicly. Many have questioned whether this kind of exhibit is sensational or in keeping with the dignity of the human person. Others are concerned about whether those who donated their bodies gave proper consent. The museum's officials asked similar questions before deciding to host it, said Paul Wojda, a bioethicist and associate theology professor at St. Thomas University in St. Paul and a member of the Science Museum's advisory board for "Body Worlds." The museum was reassured that all of the bodies -- called "plastinates" -- were from consenting donors. In the case of fetal, infant and children's bodies, parents consented to their use for display. Nothing in Catholic teaching prohibits the donation of bodies for science, Wojda said.

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