Mary Roach's Stiff Analysis

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Mary Roach's 2003 novel, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, explores rich and diverse experiences that post-mortem bodies undergo in the non-life phase. Roach gives a detailed description using open, uncensored episodes of interviews of people who work in close proximity with cadavers ranging from doctors to morticians to body farm personnel. Through personal fascination and humorous experiences, Roach shows how cadavers are the uncelebrated heroes of our past, present, and future time in medical and non-medical areas. The use of cadavers (both donated and non-donated) in all areas of life has been explained, going outside the expected medical use. Roach went out of her way to look into a rumor she heard about two brothers in China …show more content…
They do not seem to show devotion and pay attention to the value ascribed to the human body. Cadaver dissection touches on the principle of autonomy. According to this principle, every person has autonomous control to how his or her body will be disposed of after death. The point of contention here is when someone emphasizes on what should or should not be done with his or her body when they die, despite public interest or social need. This principle has been ignored in many instances more than the times it has been followed. It continues to be overlooked in many societies where there are scarce donations of organs and bodies for dissection (Kerby et al, …show more content…
The principle of autonomy makes provisions that are continually being ignored when the use of unclaimed bodies is being made a major part in the study of anatomical perspectives in medicine. Anatomical dissection is an honored part of medical education, therefore, ethical uncertainties need to be addressed. However, similarly to the use of human tissue for research, the use of human cadavers for training and teaching purposes remains to be a valuable gift that needs to be ethically and legally appreciated.
Ethical considerations revolve around the value placed on the human body and the attitudes of the society towards the dead body. This is because a person is closely identified with his or her body and the two cannot be separated even after death. The body still retains its form of identification even after death and it commands respect from its identity. Autonomy emphasizes on the values of the individual being at the center of the decision-making process. What the person believes as being right or wrong should always be considered in making the judgment concerning what will affect the particular person, even after his or her death (Nurunnabi et al,

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