Exhibition raises ethical question

After Zan Dubin Scott’s “Sweetie, Ready to Share That Inner Self?” (Jan. 27) about “Body Worlds” at the California Science Center, I thought I would take a look. While some of what was displayed had educational and scientific value, in particular in showing how bad habits are translated into diseases and ill health, it struck me there was a certain freak show aspect to the exhibition. Many of the flayed and filleted bodies that had been contorted in different positions -- Yoga Woman, Fencer Man, Skateboard Man, Ballerina, etc., had been posed after death to present a certain measure of entertainment value.

The ethics of using our fellow humans in this manner is troublesome; I wonder if the consenting persons knew that they were helping to create a 21st century circus sideshow.

Greg W. Garrotto

Los Angeles