Death, cadavers and post-mortem biomedical research: a point of view from a Christian community.
Facing modern developments of medicine and biomedical researches, religious communities are a strong source of ethics principles and orientations. Human dignity does not disappear after life, in a context of biomedical research on cadavers. Moral, political, social and scientific aspects of research on human cadavers (mainly autopsies) have been widely discussed in biomedical publications, whereas the religious ones (which could be predominant for some) have rarely been analyzed and presented. This article will present the results of a survey carried out a French Benedictine Abbey (relative to death, cadaver's status and biomedical research) and subsequent Christian background according to canonic texts and practical cases from anthropological, historical, archeological and biomedical origin.
Department of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, University Hospital (AP-HP, UVSQ), 104 R. Poincaré Boulevard, 92380, Garches, France, ph_charlier@yahoo.fr.
Philippe
P
Charlier
Alain
A
Joly
Julie
J
Champagnat
Luc
L
Brun
Geoffroy Lorin
GL
de la Grandmaison
Christian
C
Hervé
D001293:Attitude to Death; D001344:Autopsy / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods; D002102:Cadaver; D002835:Christianity / Q000523:psychology*; D055700:Cremation / Q000941:ethics; D004615:Embalming / Q000941:ethics; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D009014:Morals; D012068:Religion and Medicine