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Whose Bodies Are in the ‘Bodies’ Exhibit?
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Concerns have arisen that a number of preserved bodies on display in popular exhibitions may have come from Chinese prisons.
30-Second Summary
Premier Exhibition’s “Bodies … the Exhibition” has appeared in numerous American cities such as New York, Las Vegas, Seattle and Pittsburgh. But a recent investigation by the ABC news program “20/20” questions how the bodies on display are obtained.
Although the “Bodies” exhibition has faced accusations that the corpses it uses come from prisoners in Chinese labor camps, Premier denies these allegations, claiming they only use “legitimate, unclaimed bodies,” according to ABC News.
Nonetheless, in late January 2008, the California state assembly passed a bill compelling the exhibitors to attain prior consent from the donors or donors’ families before they use their bodies in the show.
“Bodies” isn’t the only exhibit featuring plastinated human bodies. German anatomist Gunther von Hagen, who invented the plastination technique in 1977, has been showing his “Body Worlds” exhibition since 1995.
Moreover, von Hagen says that his bodies come only from “European donors who voluntarily consented prior to their deaths to have their bodies put on display,” according to ABC News. He went on to say that he no longer uses Chinese bodies, fearing that they could be executed prisoners.
But lack of consent is not the only issue surrounding these anatomical exhibits. Some critics have called it downright inappropriate to slice up human bodies and parade them in various poses for public view. Supporters argue, however, that the unique presentation of the human form offered by the exhibits is a valuable educational experience.
Although the “Bodies” exhibition has faced accusations that the corpses it uses come from prisoners in Chinese labor camps, Premier denies these allegations, claiming they only use “legitimate, unclaimed bodies,” according to ABC News.
Nonetheless, in late January 2008, the California state assembly passed a bill compelling the exhibitors to attain prior consent from the donors or donors’ families before they use their bodies in the show.
“Bodies” isn’t the only exhibit featuring plastinated human bodies. German anatomist Gunther von Hagen, who invented the plastination technique in 1977, has been showing his “Body Worlds” exhibition since 1995.
Moreover, von Hagen says that his bodies come only from “European donors who voluntarily consented prior to their deaths to have their bodies put on display,” according to ABC News. He went on to say that he no longer uses Chinese bodies, fearing that they could be executed prisoners.
But lack of consent is not the only issue surrounding these anatomical exhibits. Some critics have called it downright inappropriate to slice up human bodies and parade them in various poses for public view. Supporters argue, however, that the unique presentation of the human form offered by the exhibits is a valuable educational experience.
Headline Links: The questionable origins of the bodies
German doctor Gunther von Hagens, the inventor of the plastination process, told 20/20 that he no longer uses bodies from China, fearing they could be executed prisoners. Even so, Hagans’ exhibit has drawn opprobrium from numerous critics. Rabbi Louis Feldstein of Atlanta told “20/20” that these exhibitions comprise “cadavers that have been put in the most atrocious poses for our entertainment.”
Source: ABC News
Harry Wu, head of the Laogai Research Foundation, objects to the “unclaimed” bodies used by Premier Exhibition's "Bodies…the Exhibition.” Wu said that “China executes more prisoners than any other country,” and Amnesty International reports that 1,010 people were executed in China in 2006. But Premier CEO Arnie Geller told ABC News, “These are all legitimate, unclaimed bodies that have gone through Dalian Medical University into the plastination laboratory, and that's where we received them from."
Source: ABC News
“20/20” provides an 18-minute segment called “Inside the Bodies Exhibit,” featuring the findings of Brian Ross’s investigation. Ross says that “with the growing exposure and profits, have come growing, troubling questions about the bodies: Where they come from, how they are used?” Ross speaks to Premier CEO Arnie Geller, and follows the trail of the bodies to their source at the Dalian Medical University in China.
Source: 20/20
Background: Tracing the path of the body plastination exhibits
What is plastination?
According to a LiveScience article from February 2006, dissection is quite different from plastination, the technique created by German anatomist Gunther von Hagens. With plastination, an “embalmed body is drained of its natural fluids and injected with a polymer solution. The body is posed and then cured and hardened into position,” LiveSciene reports. Those in favor of plastination see it not only as an opportunity to educate the public, but also as a “technology to be used right alongside the traditional methods of dissection taught in medical classrooms.”
Source: LiveScience
The controversial Gunther von Hagens
A November 2002 article from The New York Times reported on “Britain's first public autopsy in 170 years,” since the practice was outlawed to prevent body snatching. The dissection was a “sensational event,” said Michael Wilkes, the head of the British Medical Association's ethics committee. Gunther von Hagens, who had already generated controversy through his “Body Worlds” London exhibit, performed the autopsy.
Source: The New York Times
Exhibit stirs “fury” in Britain
An April 2, 2006, article from The Guardian reported on the premier of the “Bodies” exhibit in England, and the accompanying commotion it stirred among human rights groups: “‘The problem is that the provenance of the bodies is not clear,' said Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China. 'The Chinese authorities do not disclose that type of information, and given their history of using the organs and bodies of political prisoners there is certainly plenty of cause for concern.”
Source: The Guardian
California bill seeks prior consent
A Jan. 25, 2008 article from the Los Angeles Times reported that the California state Assembly voted 50 to 4 in favor of a bill requiring prior consent from those displayed at the body exhibits. The legislation was forwarded to the state Senate. Body Worlds has expressed no qualms with the bill, while Premier Exhibitions said that it “does not know the identities of the donors,” reports the Times. California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, a Chinese American, said, "Chinese people are very superstitious about death … They don't believe in organ donations … So, automatically, I thought that something was wrong with the show."
Source: Los Angeles Times
Reactions: Responding to the ‘20/20’ report
A Feb. 16, 2008, article from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review explores the issues raised in the “20/20” segment alleging that the “Bodies” exhibit uses Chinese prisoners. The exhibition was being shown at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Science Center when the “20/20” feature aired, prompting mixed responses from those who attended the show and heard about the accusations. “I think someone would have stopped them before it got this far," said Sherren Smith, 49, of Penn Hills, who described the show as "very, very educational," according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Opinion & Analysis: The Ethical dilemma
Mike Hendricks argues in the Kansas City Star on March 2, 2008, that the bodies shows are invaluable exhibits, despite the commonly cited ethical concerns. Hendricks writes, “If anything makes a more compelling argument for the sanctity and dignity of humanity––and does it more tastefully—I haven’t seen it.”
Source: The Kansas City Star
‘Body Displays, If Properly Run, Are Very Educational’
A Jan. 18, 2008, editorial from the San Jose Mercury News asserts, “Everyone with an interest in making smarter decisions about how they take care of their bodies should see the show.” But the editorial qualifies this statement by stressing the need for the show to be run properly. In regard to accusations claming that “Bodies” did not have consent from the donors to display their bodies, the editorial points out that the “Body Worlds” exhibit used only bodies from consenting donors. “Unfortunately,” writes the San Jose Mercury News, “the practices by some of those attempting to copy Body Worlds' success call out for further investigation by the Legislature.”
Source: San Jose Mercury News
The necessity of donor consent
A September 2007 editorial from the University of Pittsburgh newspaper Pitt News, cites the educational benefits to seeing "Bodies: The Exhibition,” which took place in Pittsburgh that fall. But the publication also expresses concern over the exhibit’s failure to prove donor consent: “Because, while we value science and education, nothing supercedes basic human rights.”
Source: The Pitt News
Exhibits “nothing more than high-tech carnival displays”
The major issue for Gail Finke, according to her Feb. 20, 2008, opinion in the Cincinnati Enquirer, is not the origin of the bodies, or the lack of donor consent, but propriety. According to Finke, “Using corpses to advertise anything, even themselves, should be right up there with profanity and nudity as off-limits.”
Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer
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