Gutsy Exhibit

By Thomas Caywood

Thursday, June 8, 2006 - Updated: 01:56 AM EST

A Sharon pharmacist is fighting an uphill battle against an upcoming Museum of Science exhibition that will display 20 preserved cadavers from which the skin has been removed to expose muscles, nerves and organs.

The traveling exhibit, called Body World 2 and scheduled to open in Boston next month, "does not treat the human body with dignity, and I've seen the exhibit in Cleveland," said Aaron Ginsburg, 56.

Ginsburg said he objects to the "macabre process," which he said leaves human bodies "sliced, diced, freeze-dried and coated in plastic."

Museum officials stress the cadavers are people who agreed prior to death for their remains to be preserved and exhibited.

"For a lot of history, bodies have been used for medical education. This is the first time regular citizens have had access to this," said Paul Fontaine, the museum's vice president of programs.

Fontaine said models and sketches simply can't convey the breathtaking beauty and complexity of the human anatomy.

But Ginsburg holds that the sanctity of remains outweighs the anatomical curiosity of the general public.

Clark Wolf, director of bioethics at Iowa State University, called the treatment of human remains a "morally significant matter."

But with consent and tasteful execution, he said, the exhibit doesn't cross an ethical boundary.

"I do think the museum ought to deal with the moral issue on the surface in this exhibit," Wolf said. "It would be a mistake to push away the moral issues."