Would You Be Embalmed?

Embalming is defined as the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make the suitable display at a funeral. The question then becomes if a person knew the process of embalming, would one want to be embalmed. Some people claim that seeing their loved ones in a coffin beautified makes them appear as if they were sleeping and as if the spirit had not left the body. With embalming, the body must have surgery performed on in order to drain all the fluids and organs from the body, only to be replaced by other chemicals. In this sense, the spirit is completely gone. Death is supposed to be naturally peaceful, but embalming is not a natural process because it delays the grieving process for the loss of a loved one.

To begin with, embalming is a process that takes time and is invasive of the human body. Jerrit Clayton the Executive Vice President of Operations for Flanner & Buchanan Mortuaries and Cemeteries, and a graduate of the Indiana College of Mortuary Science explains a simplified version of the process. A disinfectant is sprayed on the body, and then the nose and mouth are wiped out before the mouth is stitched close. Plastic serrated caps are inserted under the eyelids to keep them closed. Eight to ten liters of embalming fluid are filtered into the body. The vein is kept open in order to let the blood drain out. When hearing the process in which a person must go through to be embalmed, anyone who thinks clearly would not want to undergo the process. Death is natural. It does not include being sewn shut like a doll. To have respect for the deceased would also include not torturing their bodies in order for an observance. Those people live their whole lives without being corrected in every way by surgery, why should they on their final resting place? They should not. When people hear of this process they will be mortified that their bodies will be transformed into something that it was not in the first place. As stated by Emily Robertson, "after hearing the process of embalming and knowing what they did to my grandmother made me sick." The remaining family members still feel love when a person dies and knowing someone has recreated their bodies is unfit. In a study conducted by the Funeral Consumers Alliance, 32 percent of customers saw embalming as a negative experience because it did not allow them to grieve. The surveyed said they felt as if their loved one was still alive and then it hit them that the person was gone when the dirt covered the hole in which the person was buried.

Next, embalming costs are very high. The cost of the average funeral in the United States, according to the National Funeral Directors Association, is $6,500, but it can easily reach a peak of $10,000 with flowers, the burial plot, and a casket. The average cost of embalming is $500 according to the National Funeral Directors Association as well. The cost of embalming is too high. If a person