No Privacy For The Dead?

by Dish Staff

In his book The Lobotomist, Jack El-Hai published the names and identifying characteristics of some of some of the deceased lobotomy patients whose medical records he uncovered in his research. He explains why he concluded that “after death, nobody’s life should be off limits to researchers”:

Here’s the remarkable thing about literature, factual or fictional: readers imagine characters in their mind’s eye and identify with subtle aspects of the characterisations. Small, specific details transform into universally felt feelings. That’s what gives great writing its power. A detail untruthfully presented changes the reader’s experience and the magical chemistry of the narrative. I steadfastly believe that the dogged adherence to fact – not to be confused with maintaining an impossible pose of objectivity – is the only way to allow nonfiction narratives to resonate with readers. …

Maybe this is why I was never interested in a medical career, but for me public interest will nearly always trump personal privacy. I agree with Allan G Bogue, former president of the Social Science History Association, who years ago sparked controversy by declaring that knowledge advances best when researchers have unrestricted access to private historical records, including medical files. ‘Open’ should be the default status of these records after the decades pass and the subjects die.