A woman in Oregon, USA, was shocked to find out that her husband's body, which he had requested to be donated for the advancement of medical sciences, was dissected in front of a paying audience at a hotel in Portland. According to "THE ADVOCATE," after the death of a Vietnam veteran from Louisiana due to COVID-19 last August, his widow sought to honor his wishes by donating his body to medical science, linking it to his strong sense of patriotism and service. However, she was horrified to learn that her late husband was being dissected for an audience that paid up to $500 per ticket for the event, referred to as the "Exhibit of Oddities and Curiosities."
This "Exhibit of Oddities and Curiosities" travels across the country, aimed at intriguing lovers of the strange with elements such as embalming, preserved specimens, horror-inspired artworks, and creepy clothing. David Saunders, 98, passed away on August 24 after battling COVID-19 in a Zachary hospital. He and his wife, Elsie Saunders, lived in Baker after leaving the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina.
Elsie Saunders told "The Advocate" that she attempted to donate his body to LSU, but the university rejected the donation due to her husband's positive COVID-19 test. Seattle's King TV first reported on the dissection on October 17, noting that attendees sat just inches from the dissection table while an anatomist spent hours carving up the body and removing various organs.
Elsie Saunders noted that she learned about the public dissection when a reporter from King TV contacted her last Tuesday, explaining that she received continuous calls from media and family since the report aired. She added, "As much as I'm concerned, it's horrifying and unethical, and I don't have the words to describe it... I have all these papers stating that his body would be used for science... nothing about this commercial exploitation of his death."
Ticket prices for the show reached up to $500 per person according to King TV, with the "exhibit" running from 9 AM to 4 PM, including a lunch break. Organizers stated that attendees would witness forensic dissection and anatomical dissection of a complete human body. The online description stated, "From examining the exterior of the body to the removal of vital organs including the brain, we will find new insights into how a human body can tell a story... There will be many opportunities for attendees to take a close and personal look at the body."
According to the wife, her husband had long planned to donate his body for science, but when LSU refused to take the remains, she contacted a private company called Med Ed Labs based in Las Vegas, believing they had similar goals to a research institution like LSU. When contacted for comments, officials from Med Ed Labs stated they only handled ticket sales for the dissection and did not organize the event, shifting responsibility to another company called Death Science.
Officials from the exhibit clarified in an email: "Med Ed Labs" is the host and worked with a lab... This was not at all an entertainment show; it was an educational event." Jeremy Siliberto, founder of Death Science, stated in an email that "Med Ed" — which provided the body and the anatomist teaching the class — was fully aware that the body would be used in an event where not all attendees were "medical students exclusively," adding that in this case, the body was donated "for research, medical, and educational purposes."
