Bringing Body Worlds to Your Living Room ... Legally
A German anatomist whose partially dissected, sliced collection of preserved human corpses has been seen by millions throughout Europe and the United States in controversial “Body Worlds” museum exhibits now plans to expand his market.
Gunther von Hagens expects to sell portions of the bodies of humans—and pets—for home display, reports the London Times. There is one problem: the contracts under which human bodies are donated often call for them to be used for medical education. However, one way out of the legal dilemma would be to “customize” the corpses, preserving the body of a family member or friend—rather than a stranger— who has agreed to serve as home decor, according to the newspaper. Family pets, too, pose no problem in this regard.
Von Hagens has voluntarily agreed to impose certain conditions on those who purchase preserved body sections, the article notes, although it isn’t clear how these conditions will be enforced. Among them: The body sections must be treated with dignity.
“That means forbidding the use of the body sections as, for example, placemats for cocktail glasses,” he explains, “and if the owner wants to get rid of the body bits, he will be required to cremate them and not simply throw them in the bin.”
