<P> Dissection in U.S. high schools became prominent in 1987, when a California student, Jenifer Graham, sued to require her school to let her complete an alternative project . The court ruled that mandatory dissections were permissible, but that Graham could ask to dissect a frog that had died of natural causes rather than one that was killed for the purposes of dissection; the practical impossibility of procuring a frog that had died of natural causes in effect let Graham opt out of the required dissection . The suit gave publicity to anti-dissection advocates . Graham appeared in a 1987 Apple Computer commercial for the virtual - dissection software Operation Frog . The state of California passed a Student's Rights Bill in 1988 requiring that objecting students be allowed to complete alternative projects . Opting out of dissection increased through the 1990s . </P> <P> In the United States, 17 states along with Washington, D.C. have enacted dissection - choice laws or policies that allow students in primary and secondary education to opt out of dissection . Other states including Arizona, Hawaii, Minnesota, Texas, and Utah have more general policies on opting out on moral, religious, or ethical grounds . </P> <P> As for the dissection of cadavers in undergraduate and medical school, traditional dissection is supported by professors and students, with some opposition, limiting the availability of dissection . Upper level students who have experienced this method along with their professors agree that "Studying human anatomy with colorful charts is one thing . Using a scalpel and an actual, recently - living person is an entirely different matter ." </P> <P> The way in which cadaveric specimens are obtained differs greatly according to country . In the UK, donation of a cadaver is wholly voluntary . Involuntary donation plays a role in about 20 percent of specimens in the US and almost all specimens donated in some countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe . Countries that practice involuntary donation may make available the bodies of dead criminals or unclaimed or unidentified bodies for the purposes of dissection . Such practices may lead to a greater proportion of the poor, homeless and social outcasts being involuntarily donated . Cadavers donated in one jurisdiction may also be used for the purposes of dissection in another, whether across states in the US, or imported from other countries, such as with Libya . As an example of how a cadaver is donated voluntarily, a funeral home in conjunction with a voluntary donation program identifies a body who is part of the program . After broaching the subject with relatives in a diplomatic fashion, the body is then transported to a registered facility . The body is tested for the presence of HIV and Hepatitis viruses . It is then evaluated for use as a "fresh" or "prepared" specimen . </P>

During what period was dissection of the body for study accepted