German doctor conducts public autopsy in London

LONDON -- In a gruesome spectacle reminiscent of the pre-Victorian past, a German doctor defied threats of prosecution Wednesday night and conducted a public autopsy in an art gallery, charging spectators $19 a head.

Compounding the controversy over the first public autopsy in Britain in 170 years, a TV network said it would air edited footage.

Professor Gunther von Hagens began the post-mortem in front of 500 people in London's East End. In the audience were anatomy professors who were asked by Scotland Yard to attend after a government inspector warned the autopsy could be illegal.

Scotland Yard had refused to say whether it would stop the autopsy before a crowd and a TV camera crew.

The professor insisted he had the permission of the deceased's family and a sound legal basis for performing the autopsy.

The autopsy was shown on giant screens inside the gallery. After it was over, some people in the crowd said they liked what they saw.

"It think it's absolutely fascinating. I've never seen anything like it before," said accountant Louise Cotton, 40.

Dr. Jeremy Metters, the official Inspector of Anatomy, said it was illegal under the 1984 Anatomy Act because neither von Hagens nor the venue had post-mortem licenses.

Metters said he wrote to von Hagens warning that he faced criminal penalties and that police were asked to take "appropriate action."

Von Hagens denied he was breaking any laws and said he had a "briefcase full of books" to support his case.

The inspector's attitude, he said, "reminds me of the times when clergymen reserved the right to read the Bible."

Von Hagens changed earlier plans to carry out the examination on the body of a 33-year-old woman was epileptic -- reportedly because of opposition from epilepsy groups.

Public autopsies became popular across Europe from the 16th century, after the Roman Catholic Church gave permission for surgeons to dissect bodies to help understand the miracle of creation.

They were banned in Britain in 1832, five years before Queen Victoria ascended the throne, to stop unscrupulous surgeons taking unclaimed bodies from workhouses for dissection.

Dr. Roger Soames, of the British Association of Professional Anatomists, said taking a post-mortem out of licensed premises and into a public place raised ethical issues.

He said people's curiosity was understandable, "because most of the public are fascinated by the way their body works."

But "I'm not sure if this is the way to do it," he said.

Britain's Channel 4 said it would broadcast the event to "demystify the taboos" that surround death.

"It is something that we must all face, yet death has been removed from our normal experience to be managed by professionals," said Simon Andreae, the broadcaster's head of science and education.

The Body Worlds show has toured other European countries and Japan.