Rhode Island Home > The Jewish Voice & Herald > Letters - 10.13.06
Letters to the Editor
Plastic corpses turn miracles into mockery
Body Worlds, now at the Museum of Science in Boston, consists of numerous real human bodies that have been plasticized There are similar exhibits in several places in North America and abroad. Body Worlds claims that the deceased donated their bodies. Premier Exhibitions, their major competitor, says that the bodies are from China, and that they were legally obtained.
China, however, is a dictatorship, not a nation of law, and Chinese assurances may be taken with a grain of salt. Did the deceased really give permission for the use of the bodies? These exhibits may well be violation of human rights.
But even if permission of the deceased was obtained, these exhibits still violate human dignity. As Jews we believe a human being is not only a wondrous machine of flesh but also that we have a soul. We should treat each other with respect, because we are created in the image of God. Flaying, plasticizing and using bodies to sell tickets to blockbuster exhibits is abhorrent. Jewish law mandates that bodies be treated with respect in honor of the living person they once gave a home to.
Ideas, especially well-marketed ones, have the incredible potential for good or evil. The exhibits claim to be about science, but being in a science museum doesn’t make it science. They say that the exhibits are educational, but so is everything in life. And there are better ways to educate; Hundreds of my relatives are buried in a pit in Belarus because someone thought it was a good idea.
These exhibits are wrong. Vote with your feet by not going. Or visit http://dignityinboston.googlepages.com/home and sign a petition. Stand up for human dignity.
Aaron Ginsburg
Sharon, Mass.
Aaron Ginsburg is the creator of the Dignityinboston website.