Abstract:
Statement of Problem: Whether it is acknowledged or not, all humans are obsessed with death. Since death is the one thing that is promised to all humans, it only makes sense to protect certain unalienable rights in death. Human rights should have no limit as to how far they stretch, so as long as one is a human being, alive or dead, one should receive rights. However, a deceased person does not require the same human rights as outlined on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Instead, deceased persons should simply have the right to not be mutilated or defiled. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a decree that most people can agree with and adopt. Everyone deserves the right to freedom and equality without being persecuted for claiming those rights. One issue with the UDHR is that there are no specific rights that are geared to the deceased. For obvious reason, the deceased do not need all of the same rights as alive persons, however, universal rights should also be established for the deceased. Just as the living have a right to security, the deceased should also have the right to be protected from mutilation. With no defined extension of human rights to the deceased, there is no way to ensure that dearly beloved deceased can continue an eternal slumber peacefully. Rights for the deceased are important because they give an indication of what people can expect once they have passed. Since there is no concrete evidence of what happens after death, at least people will have the comfort of knowing they will rest without any sort of mutilation being performed on their lifeless and uncontrolled bodies.
