Bodies the Exhibition: Myths and Facts
Facts and Myths about BODIES: The Exhibition
MYTH: These people donated their bodies freely to science.
FACT: These are unclaimed bodies of real people. These people DID NOT consent to having their bodies used after their death. They DID NOT KNOW their bodies were going to be dissected and exhibited for profit.
MYTH: These people died of natural causes.
FACT: These people are all individuals who appear to be young, fit, and have died in the prime of their lives. Natural cause deaths would lead you to find older bodies, with certain characteristics spinal curvature, etc. that would reflect their age.
Myth: These bodies were obtained from a medical university in China.
FACT: There is NO medical school associated with the back alley shop processing these bodies for exhibition. Nobody will certify, nor provide documents, that these are not executed political prisoners, which is most likely the source in China. Political prisoners are people who may disagree with the views of the government or are persecuted for practicing their religion, be it Muslim, Christianity, Falun Gong, Tibetan Buddhism etc.
Myth: These bodies were obtained legally.
FACT: The New York Attorney General, and US Customs are investigating the importation of the these bodies. There is reason to believe Premier Exhibitions intentionally misled customs officials on shipping documents. These real bodies were labeled by Premier Exhibitions on their customs documents as "plastic models for medical training." Both claims, as pertains to this exhibit, are false.
Myth: The exhibit is scientific and educational.
FACT: The education director for the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh resigned under protest of this display in her facility. Any aspect of the human experience could be called educational. Indeed the human body and its parts are beautiful and wondrous. Can we suspend our ethics for the sake of education? If these were all black people, or all Jewish, or unclaimed remains from Katrina, the descriptor "educational" would not even be considered. The truth is, this exhibit is a huge money maker for the Museum Center and Premier Exhibitions.
FACT: The Cincinnati Museum Center wants to sell this as an "educational experience" to Cincinnati. This same show is in Las Vegas, and shopping malls in other cities, marketed as entertainment. Ohio Magazine has ads for this exhibit with the byline: "All for fun... fun for all!"
Myth: Every city has received this exhibit well.
FACT: The city of San Francisco banned this exhibit. Legislation was introduced in Washington state to do the same. Protest movements have risen in every city where this exhibit has travelled in a growing national movement against these type of Body exhibits.
FACT: The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has urged their schools to boycott the exhibit.
FACT: Premier Exhibitions made $30 million off these dead people, and are to make millions more in Cincinnati.
FACT: These are REAL people...
FACT: These are REAL people who did not know their bodies were going to be used in this way.
FACT: These are REAL people who did not know they were going to be dissected and shown for profit.
FACT: These are REAL people who did not have free choice of what happened to their remains.
FACT: These REAL people DO NOT HAVE A VOICE in what is happening to them now.
MYTH: These people donated their bodies freely to science.
FACT: These are unclaimed bodies of real people. These people DID NOT consent to having their bodies used after their death. They DID NOT KNOW their bodies were going to be dissected and exhibited for profit.
MYTH: These people died of natural causes.
FACT: These people are all individuals who appear to be young, fit, and have died in the prime of their lives. Natural cause deaths would lead you to find older bodies, with certain characteristics spinal curvature, etc. that would reflect their age.
Myth: These bodies were obtained from a medical university in China.
FACT: There is NO medical school associated with the back alley shop processing these bodies for exhibition. Nobody will certify, nor provide documents, that these are not executed political prisoners, which is most likely the source in China. Political prisoners are people who may disagree with the views of the government or are persecuted for practicing their religion, be it Muslim, Christianity, Falun Gong, Tibetan Buddhism etc.
Myth: These bodies were obtained legally.
FACT: The New York Attorney General, and US Customs are investigating the importation of the these bodies. There is reason to believe Premier Exhibitions intentionally misled customs officials on shipping documents. These real bodies were labeled by Premier Exhibitions on their customs documents as "plastic models for medical training." Both claims, as pertains to this exhibit, are false.
Myth: The exhibit is scientific and educational.
FACT: The education director for the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh resigned under protest of this display in her facility. Any aspect of the human experience could be called educational. Indeed the human body and its parts are beautiful and wondrous. Can we suspend our ethics for the sake of education? If these were all black people, or all Jewish, or unclaimed remains from Katrina, the descriptor "educational" would not even be considered. The truth is, this exhibit is a huge money maker for the Museum Center and Premier Exhibitions.
FACT: The Cincinnati Museum Center wants to sell this as an "educational experience" to Cincinnati. This same show is in Las Vegas, and shopping malls in other cities, marketed as entertainment. Ohio Magazine has ads for this exhibit with the byline: "All for fun... fun for all!"
Myth: Every city has received this exhibit well.
FACT: The city of San Francisco banned this exhibit. Legislation was introduced in Washington state to do the same. Protest movements have risen in every city where this exhibit has travelled in a growing national movement against these type of Body exhibits.
FACT: The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has urged their schools to boycott the exhibit.
FACT: Premier Exhibitions made $30 million off these dead people, and are to make millions more in Cincinnati.
FACT: These are REAL people...
FACT: These are REAL people who did not know their bodies were going to be used in this way.
FACT: These are REAL people who did not know they were going to be dissected and shown for profit.
FACT: These are REAL people who did not have free choice of what happened to their remains.
FACT: These REAL people DO NOT HAVE A VOICE in what is happening to them now.
