A human rights organization is calling for a halt to a graphic display of “plasticized” human corpses and body parts currently in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
The bodies with skin removed, and in various poses, are in an exhibition called “Bodies Revealed” organized by Premier Exhibitions of Atlanta, Georgia in the USA.
The bodies as well as foetuses shown in a mother’s uterus, have been put through a process known as “plastination” to preserve the specimens indefinitely.
The group, Choose Humanity, says the display now on in Niagara Falls merits a criminal and coroner’s investigation as there are likely no forms of consent to display these bodies.
Joel Chipkar, spokesman for Choose Humanity says, “If these bodies do not have consent to be shown, these bodies are being shown illegally in Canada.” He points out that donating organs tends to be culturally taboo in China and it is therefore highly unlikely the Chinese would have given consent to donate their bodies.
In a written complaint to Ontario’s chief coroner obtained by The Canadian Press, the group’s lawyer Joel Etienne calls for a investigation into the circumstances of the deaths.
“We have members of my clients’ organization who have relatives who were detained, tortured and murdered in China,” the letter states. “Through DNA, we would be able to ascertain whether or not some of these victims are direct relatives of some of my clients.”
Dirk Huyer, chief coroner for Ontario, said Friday that he had no authority under provincial law to pursue the matter as requested because the deaths occurred outside the province
The plastination process was invented in 1977 by German anatomist Gunter Von Hagens who patented the technique and set up a factory to plasticise bodies in Dalian China, which is close to three prison camps.
The process replaces body fluids with polymers but requires cadavers that have not been treated with other chemicals and within 48 hours of death.
Ever since they first began appearing in museums and other venues, these types of displays have been the source of repeated controversy and questions about the source and legality involved with the corpses..
The main source, and the source for the Bodies Revealed display, is the Chinese prison system. There is now an entire profitable industry in China to plasticize bodies.
However, several jurisdictions around the world have barred such displays given the uncertainty around the provenance of the bodies. Hawaii and France did so in 2009, while Israel closed down such an exhibition in 2012.
From its Facebook page Choose Humanity says it “is an initiative aimed at creating awareness on the human rights crisis in China, involving the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its brutal persecution of men, women and children who practice the peaceful teachings of Falun Gong.”
It goes on to say allege that over the past twelve years Chinese authorities have killed more than 3,400 practicioners of Falun Gong.
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