Autopsy is not really respectful of the deceased. Medical school cadavers are not always treated respectfully (individual annecdotes abound on both sides of the issue). The plasticization of the corpses is not something I would have wished for a loved one, but I suspect there was an educational aspect along with the lurid. The sale of those deceased people is simply lurid.
My wife is a surgeon. She took our kids to the exhibit; they were impressed by the reality of it and therefore more interested in the anatomy she explained to them. I realize computer graphics or pure plastic models could be substituted for the gross anatomy, but there are compelling reasons to use real bodies. Simulation is ubiquitous in our world. It removes interest in the topic unless it is associated with reality. When I first saw the World Trade Centers collapse, I thought it was another tasteless disaster movie promotion. I ignored it. When I realized everyone was watching the loop of footage over and over again–that it was real, the images became much more meaningful. So too, I think the fact that the kids were seeing reality, and that impressed them. Once impressed, they were open to my wife’s teaching.
This sale might even provide a similar learning experience about respect for the dead and ethics regarding human dignity.
