Against embalming why

Do any religions forbid it? When is embalming required? Does embalming protect community health? How well does it preserve the body? Why is embalming promoted? What is the embalming process?

Rigor mortis stiffness is relieved by massage. Rarely, tendons or muscles must be cut for a more natural pose if limbs are distorted by disease, e. Massage cream is used on the face and hands to keep the skin soft and pliable. Facial features are set by putting cotton in the nose, eye caps below the eyelids, and a mouth-former in the mouth, with cotton or gauze in the throat to absorb purging fluids. The mouth is then tied shut with wire or sutures.

Glue may be used on the eyelids or lips to keep them closed in an appropriate pose. Facial hair is shaved if necessary. Arterial embalming is begun by injecting embalming fluid into an artery while blood is drained from a nearby vein or from the heart. The two gallons or so needed is usually a mixture of formaldehyde or other chemical and water. Chemicals are also injected by syringe into other areas of the body. The second part of the embalming process is called cavity embalming. The day after she died, I took my father to the funeral home, where he bought the most expensive coffin available.

The mortician assured him it was waterproof. Two days later, after my mother had been embalmed, we returned. I started to walk into the Slumber Room. I could see my mother in the coffin across the room, and for one very long and strange moment, I thought she was alive again.

She looked better than she had for years. Her skin was pink and smooth; her hair, nicely groomed. Even her fingernails were done, and she had a very small smile on her face. I knew she was dead. I really did. I had seen her death coming for years and worked through the pain to accept it.

But at that moment, I thought she might sit up and look at me, and a lot of my hard-won acceptance was lost. More than thirty years later, I still resent what was done to her, and to me. The experience left me wondering, If we grieve because the person we loved has died, why do we so often make a dead person appear alive?

The common practice of embalming has one purpose: it slows the decomposition of a dead body so that a funeral can be delayed for several days and cosmetic work can be done on the corpse. Despite the appearances it creates, it is a violent process, and the corpses still decompose. It just makes a dead body look, more or less, not dead, for a little while. About a century ago, embalming was rare. But during the Civil War , thousands of dead soldiers were embalmed.

They died so far from home that the only alternative was a battlefield burial, so a rudimentary process using arsenic was used. Then, a few years later, President Lincoln was embalmed so that his body could cross the several states in a funeral train; in the public mourning, many Americans saw a preserved body for the first and last time. By the early twentieth century, embalming was being promoted to the general public.

It was the main skill of the new profession of undertaker. Topics: Leave Well. View Obituaries. Locations Find a funeral home location near you. Cremations Family-owned and operated crematory. Choose Cremation. Burial Learn about burial service options. Choose Burial. Preplanning Ensure your final wishes are honored. Funeral preplanning options. Resources Explore our guides, ebooks, brochures and videos.

View our resources. Celebrating a Life: Blog. What is the purpose of embalming? Is embalming necessary by law?