In 1887, Cécile 'Coco' Amadou died here in the Sint-Jansziekenhuis. Her body was stolen from the mortuary of this Brussels hospital and defleshed to preserve the skeleton in an anatomical collection. The perpetrator was physician-anthropologist Emile Houzé. Cécile 'Coco' Amadou was a prostitute of Senegalese origin, and Emile Houzé wanted to exhibit her as a skeleton of 'the absolutely black race'.
The case stirred up the poor class. The practice allowed in the 18th century of dissecting 'abandoned corpses' (corps abandonnés) had spiraled into a practice where hospitals could claim all bodies not retrieved and settled within 24 hours. Nowadays, an explicit declaration is required for body donation, although this is not included in a law. The donation of organs is regulated by the Organ Donation Act.
Source: Wereldgeschiedenis van Vlaanderen & Wikipedia
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