Ethical Issues Behind Body Worlds

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1) What is Body worlds? Body Worlds is a traveling exhibit of plastinated human specimens created by German anatomist Gunther von Hagens. Plastination is a technique founded by von Hagens in the late 1970s, creates durable, life-like anatomical specimens by replacing the fat and water in human body parts with plastic and thus preserving the body. Body Worlds contains unusual anatomical models in addition to more straightforward displays, and though the exhibit has met with a great deal of controversy and even outrage, it has also enjoyed continued success. As a result of the legal persecution von Hagens suffered in Germany over the first Body Worlds tour, subsequent tours have been confined to the United States and Canada. The first Body Worlds exhibit opened in Tokyo, Japan in 1995 and traveled throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States. Body Worlds 2, featuring a new collection of specimens, premiered in Los Angeles, California in January 2005, and Body Worlds 3 opened in Houston, Texas early in 2006. All three Body Worlds exhibits continue to tour in the United States and Canada. In addition to displays depicting normal anatomical structures and function, Body Worlds features specimens with pathologies, such as smoker's lung, and other medical situations, such as prosthetic limbs all for the purpose of education and enlightenment. Many people opt to donate their bodies to educational institutes, research facilities and to the institution Body Worlds. Body Worlds scientific or artistic? Body Worlds is controversial for a number of reasons. First, the exhibit was initially met with concern over whether or not the people whose bodies were displayed had given their consent. Von Hagens claimed that all specimens were voluntarily donated, and investigation into the matter confirmed his claim. However, some critics were not satisfied, especially regarding the
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