August 13, 2023
The Guardian wrote a story centered around the ethical considerations of the Mütter Museum’s collections. Part of the article is provided below and be fully accessed .
... visitors’ views are important too, especially in a changing America very different from when the collection began as a way of educating doctors.
“That’s something we need to look into,” Quinn says. “Is that who we want to be and how we want to be perceived? The world has changed so much in the past five years, and every institution, due to the pandemic and social unrest in the US, you have to ask yourself: what is the role of a museum in the world today? Why are we here, why do we exist, and who are we here to serve?”
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The issues confronting the Mütter revolve around whether museums should be answerable to scholarship or public sentiment. Quinn said the Mütter is due for review. “Most museums change much more often, and that hasn’t happened here. It’s been set in time, and it’s healthy for any organization to do,” she said.
The ethics review, of course, will get into those issues of consent. “Who gave permission to be here and what were their expectations when they gave up their bodies?” Quinn added. “There are a lot of ethical challenges that will come from this.”