Petition · past parliament
Make it illegal to display publicly after death a body without their permission
Closed
85 signatures
What the petition asks
Pass a bill in Parliament to make it illegal to publicly display a persons body whether it be the skeleton or body parts if their known wishes were against that happening.
There are peoples bodies on display in museums who specifically did not wish for that to happen and that is just not right.
There are peoples bodies on display in museums who specifically did not wish for that to happen and that is just not right.
Charles Byrne The Irish "Giant" was 7 foot 7 inches tall when he died at 22 years of age.
He had spent his whole life with people gawking at him and wanted to avoid this fate after he died. So he had arranged to be buried at sea to stop his body from being dug up and put on display.
His body never made to to sea, as it was intercepted on the way and has been on display at The Hunterian Museum for over 200 years.
No one should have this done to any of their body parts against their wishes.
He had spent his whole life with people gawking at him and wanted to avoid this fate after he died. So he had arranged to be buried at sea to stop his body from being dug up and put on display.
His body never made to to sea, as it was intercepted on the way and has been on display at The Hunterian Museum for over 200 years.
No one should have this done to any of their body parts against their wishes.
Timeline
| 28 Oct 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 28 Apr 2021 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
85
Status
Closed
Opened
28 Oct 2020
Closed
28 Apr 2021
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.