Pilfering bodies from graveyards to study human anatomy has long presented a moral conundrum. This presentation, based on the speaker's forthcoming book The Doctors’ Riot of 1788: Body Snatching, Bloodletting, and Anatomy in America explores a deadly riot in NYC in which the public attacked doctors and anatomy students for stealing bodies from the Trinity Church cemetery. This talk will focus on body snatching in earlier centuries as well as what the speaker calls modernized body snatching in the United States. Participants will be challenged to address the central question: After all this time, why haven’t we found a way to ensure our own dignity after death?