University Daily Kansan Thursday, April 28,1960
Law Change Needed to Aid Cadaver Shortage
By Dan Felger
(This is the last of three articles dealing with department of anatomy and its effects).
Any law which would change the acquisition of cadavers for the KU school of anatomy would have to be considered a moral as well as an educational issue, a member of the Kansas state legislature says.
Speaking on the issue of the shortage of cadavers in KU anatomy classes, D. S. Huits, a state senator (H-Douglas County) and a Lawrence attorney, stated that it is a definite problem, but any law change will require careful study.
"This talk of disposing of a body is a moral issue," he said. "We can't talk along the lines of a change of legislation as merely setting up a teaching aid."
Mr. Huits said that while he has been a member of the legislature the issue has not been raised in government circles.
What the anatomy department desires is a law that would assure a supply of cadavers. With the law now in effect, the University's supply of bodies has dwindled to the place where the anatomy department is unsure as to whether or not it will have enough to supply classes in 1962.
A prevailing feeling among members of the anatomy department is that the needs of the University will have to be met almost entirely by donations in coming years.
The present Kansas law implies that while a person may will his body to the University, the next of kin need not honor this part of the deceased's will. This in effect says that a person's body is not his after death.
Many of the members of the anatomy department desire a law that would establish the body as real property. This would mean that a body would be disposed of like a car, house or money, according to the terms of the will.
California's law defines the body as real property.
"If a law of this type were written in Kansas," said State Sen. Hults, "it would be decided by what's right or wrong for Kansas, not California."
A comparison of the effects of the two laws reveal that the KU department of anatomy is not assured of a cadaver supply, while the five anatomy schools in five California universities are adequately stocked.
"My personal feeling as a lawyer is that if such a deficiency exists it should be corrected. By this I also mean that it should be studied from the moral side." Mr. Hults said.
He said that the issue is certainly worthy of public consideration.
What he proposed was the submission of the problem to the Kansas Legislative Council.
The legislative council is made up of 10 senators and 16 representatives to the state legislature. The
Discussion
six months, KU will receive only half the cadavers to fill a use-rate of 40 bodies per year.
on
Anatomy department officials believe that residents of Kansas should be encouraged to donate their bodies to the University. They also believe legislation should be passed to insure the anatomy department of these donations.
"Christian Existentialism"
Open House at 2 Dorms
"The council meets in June and then again in September. I know that if the problem is submitted, it will receive careful attention," he said.
Rev. Francis Harsh Associate Pastor of the First Methodist Church
The Legislative Council is bipartisan. Mr. Hults' career in the state legislature has been characterized by his belief in the advancement of KU.
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The University is given the body only after the next-of-kin signs a release. In some cases, the next-of-kin are found and claim the body after it has been in the possession of the anatomy department for a length of time. When this happens, paul G. Roote, professor of anatomy, explains that the University always recognizes the next-of-kin's claims.
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The men of KU's L. N. Lewis and Olin Templin residence halls will hold an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
group meets quarterly and divides into sub-committees which meet each month. The function of these sub-committees is to investigate the need for legislation.
A Bargain in Records
Reg. 3.98 LONG-PLAY HI-FI
This still leaves a question mark concerning the number of cadavers the University will obtain in 1962. It has been suggested that perhaps people from other states may will their bodies to KU, but here KU is in competition with other universities.
Number Can Be Biased Although the future is not bright at present, the anatomy department believes it can balance the problem for the next two years under present conditions.
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