After We Die: The Life and Times of the Human Cadaver

Contents

Contents Introduction 1 Part I | Status and Rights of the Cadaver Chapter 1 When Does a Person Become a Corpse? 11 Recognizing the Permanent Cessation of Breathing 12 An Alternative to Heart Stoppage as the Definition of Death 17 Does Cessation of Heartbeat Have to Be Irreversible? 24 Chapter 2 The Human Nature of a Cadaver 28 Appearance and Identity 30 Sentience and Feelings of the Corpse 32 The Quasi-Human Spiritual Connections of Human Remains 34 Preoccupation with the Decedent’s Image and Identity 39 The Benefits of Having a Quasi-Human Nature 43 Chapter 3 The Legal Status of the Postliving: Do Corpses Have Rights? 45 On Resolving the Corpse’s Fate 45 Is a Corpse Property? 47 Prospective Autonomy Rights 49 viii | Contents Premortem Planning 54 Public Policy Limitations on Prospective Autonomy 57 Whose Autonomy Rights Are They? 59 Control of a Directionless Cadaver 60 Legal Protections for the Cadaver 63 Can a Cadaver Really Have Rights? 68 Part II | Disposition of Human Remains Chapter 4 Decomposition of the Body and Efforts to Slow Its Disintegration 75 Natural Deterioration 76 Without Embalming, How Soon Is a Cadaver Rotten? 79 Embalming as a Means of Preservation 82 Process and Results of Embalming 85 Duration of Preservation 87 Chapter 5 Final Disposal of Human Remains 91 Burial 92 Locus of Burial 93 The Social Hierarchy of Disposal 95 Green Burials 102 The Seawater Solution 103 Cremation 105 Disposing of the Ashes 112 Chapter 6 Eternal Preservation of the Deceased: Literally and Figuratively 119 Mummification 123 Plastination 127 Cryonics 130 Commemoration of the Deceased 134 Contents | ix Part III | The Multiple Roles of a Cadaver Chapter 7 The Cadaver as Supplier of Used Body Parts 143 Authority to Retrieve Cadaveric Organs––Informed Consent 144 The Current Shortfall in Transplant Organs 149 Organ Removal after Pronouncement of Death by Cardiac Criteria 151 Buying Organs for Transplant 159 Routine Retrieval of Cadaveric Organs 163 Constitutionality of Government Expropriation of Cadaver Tissue for Transplant 166 A No-Brainer: Presumed Consent to Be a Tissue Supplier 171 Chapter 8 The Cadaver as Teacher, Research Subject, or Forensic Witness 177 Teaching Medicine by Dissection of Cadavers 177 Autopsy and Medical Knowledge 183 The Neomort as Practice Tool 193 The Cadaver as Witness 198 Safety Research and the Sturdiness of a Cadaver 206 Chapter 9 The Cadaver as Parent 211 Using Prefrozen Sperm for Posthumous Procreation 214 Extracting Sperm from a Cadaver 219 The Female Cadaver as Gestator of a Fetus 225 Postmortem Parenthood via a Frozen Embryo 230 Part IV | Abuses of the Cadaver: What Does Decency Demand? Chapter 10 Body Snatching, Then and Now 239 The Offensiveness of Disturbing Human Remains 239 The Legal Response to Body Disturbance 240 x | Contents The Cadaver Shortage That Triggered Grave Robbing 242 The Methodology of Body Snatching (and the Defenses) 243 The Participants in Body Snatching 246 Public Distaste 248 The End of Grave Robbing 249 Modern Body Parts Snatching 250 Chapter 11 Desecration of Human Remains 254 Disrespectful Neglect 254 Mutilation of a Corpse 256 The Variables of Postmortem Human Indignity 258 Justifications for Ostensible Mistreatment 261 Motives and Messages of the Mishandlers of Cadavers 263 The Decedent’s Desires as a Determinant of Respectful Treatment 267 Intrinsic Indignity as a Limit on Unconventional Personal Choice 270 Chapter 12 Public Display and the Dignity of Human Remains 276 The Multiple Contexts of Cadaver Exposure 279 Body Worlds and Postmortem Human Dignity 284 The Art and Craft of Body Display 287 Disturbance to and Display of Ancient Remains 290 Chapter 13 Don’t Neglect the Fate of Your Remains 295 Corpses Are a Lot Like You and Me, Only Different 295 The Importance of Planning 297 Options for Enhancing Your Legacy 298 On the Limits Posed by Good Taste 300 Notes 303 Bibliography 333 List of Cases 351 Index 355 ...