Is Cannibalism Illegal In The U.S.? The Answer May Surprise You

There are tons of weird laws in the United States that really don't seem to make much sense. For example, Silly String has been banned from all public spaces in Southington, Connecticut. There's a town in California where it's illegal to walk around in heels higher than two inches. You have to sit down to drink alcohol in Woburn, Massachusetts, and the poor reptiles of New Orleans are prohibited from participating in any Mardi Gras activities (discrimination lawsuit pending).

However, despite society's general revulsion to something as morbid and taboo as cannibalism, the act is not explicitly outlawed in the United States. That's right. According to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University, there is not one law on the books at the Federal level in the United States that specifically prohibits the eating of another person. But there are laws in most states, if not all, which make it illegal — at least indirectly — to obtain and consume human flesh. For example, murder is illegal everywhere, so that prevents quite a lot of cannibals from getting dinner. Even if a person gives another his or her consent to eat them and then commits suicide, the cannibal could still face criminal and/or civil charges of desecration of a corpse, which vary among states. So don't worry, while cannibalism is not technically illegal in the United States, that doesn't mean it will come back into fashion any time soon.