Bodies - Not!

NEWS
Federal probe of 'Bodies' urged
Friday, February 22, 2008 By Cristina Rouvalis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08053/859515-85.stm

A congressman and critic of human rights abuses in China is urging a federal probe into the origin of Chinese corpses put on display at "Bodies" shows, including one at the Carnegie Science Center.
Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., is asking the House Foreign Affairs Committee to investigate the source of the preserved cadavers that strike various poses. He is asking for a moratorium on the wildly popular exhibitions, and is calling for the U.S. attorney general to investigate. The move follows an ABC News "20/20" investigation that alleged that a black market of bodies in that country led to the inclusions of some executed prisoners in shows sponsored by Premier Exhibitions. Mr. Smith plans to draft legislation that would require a group of experts to verify the identity of each body on display.

New York Attorney General investigating Cadaver Exhibitor Premier Exhibitions

N.Y., China Investigating Black Market in Bodies
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4296982&page=1

....This is not consent

By BRIAN ROSS, RHONDA SCHWARTZ and ANNA SCHECTER
Feb. 15, 2008
Authorities in China and New York have opened investigations into allegations that a black market in Chinese bodies, which may include executed prisoners, is sending corpses to the United States for public display. Photos Anatomy of the Worldwide Body Trade The investigations come in the wake of an ABC News report, to be aired tonight on "20/20," that features a self-admitted participant of a bodies black market who described "body runs" to locations where bodies, including those of executed prisoners, were sold for $200 to $300....

Subpoenas from the New York attorney general were served Thursday on Atlanta-based Premier Exhibitions, which operates body shows in more than a dozen cities. In a statement, the Office of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said it investigating "whether representations made to the public about the methods used to obtain the bodies exhibited in the U.S. are in fact false.".....

"We stand by our report," ABC News senior vice president Jeffrey Schneider told Dow Jones Newswires late Friday - CNN Money.com

"On February 14, 2008, the Company [ Premier Exhibitions} received a subpoena from the New York State Department of Law. The subpoena requires, among other things, that the Company produce documentation related to the production and sourcing of human anatomy specimens that are or have been displayed at the Company's New York City "Bodies...The Exhibition" exhibit. The Company intends to comply with its legal obligations with respect to this subpoena."

A Family with a history of using Black Market Cadavers

Premier Exhibitions is not the only organization that plastinates possible executed prioners in Dalian China.

Gunther Von Hagen would have you think he is innocent but by his own website and as a matter of record, "In 2001, he founded a private company, the Von Hagens Dalian Plastination Ltd., in Dalian, China, which currently employs a staff of 250."
Indeed he has lived in Dalian China. Current cadaver shows, including the former exhibit in Seattle have
used cadavers processed from Von Hagen's Dalian plant.
In ABC's 20/20 special Von Hagen states with what appear to be fake tears in his eyes that
"he had cremated some bodies that showed head injuries."
Oh really? How convenient.
Why have officials not asked why he did not send the bodies back for proper burial and alert the authorities?

These two expose articles [in German with photos] are considered the best article and research into Gunther Von Hagen and Sui Hongjin - Von Hagen's former manager .
Sui Hongjin now works for Premier Exhibitions which tours the U.S.
The facts are both plastinators have a long and documented history of using cadavers from unscrupulous sources.
Tough questions were asked in Germany and Europe and its time the U.S. also started asking questions.
PDF - Caution, article contains graphic photographs.

2005 Spiegel Article on Gunther Von Hagen

Complete Feb. 2005 Der Spiegel Article on Gunther
(real name Liebchen) Von Hagen
and how they found out his father was an SS Nazi officer.
Ask yourself why is Gunther not using his real name?
Answer - because if people here in the U.S. knew the background of Von Hagen his exhibits would enrage the
Jewish community and Human Rights groups and would not be
allowed to be displayed.

ABC News Online - Father of 'body parts' artist faces Nazi claims
A controversial German artist who gained notoriety for displaying body parts and corpses has said his father was pulling out of one of his son's projects following accusations that he had been a Nazi. Professor Gunther von Hagens said his father, 88-year-old Gerhard Liebchen, would no longer play any role in setting up a laboratory and warehouse in Poland to store bodies for his macabre exhibitions. ...Professor von Hagens's touring exhibition, Body Worlds, which contains 175 body parts and 25 corpses exhibited in a highly graphic manner, has prompted critics to label his art a "freak show" and him "a modern-day Frankenstein". ... German magazine Der Spiegel said in its issue published on Monday that the artist's father "appeared to have been actively involved" in the SS and helped carry out the Nazi repression of Poles during World War II.

See more of this article below

Seattle's Most Culturally Offensive Exhibit

How did it happen?

Nobody hopes it is true - that what was exhibited were executed prisoners but the fact is that everybody knew there was the possibility, some more than others. Who hosted this exhibit? Seattle Theater Group and the Museum of History and Industry. The Seattle Theater Group states they did a survey of the community a year prior to solicite feedback and comments. They claim they called former Govenor Gary Locke, the Wing Luke Asian Museum and the Asian Newspapers.

Was it for feedback or to suppress opposition? We know from statements from Ron Chew former director of the Wing Luke Asian museum that they discussed possible protests by the Chinese community but next thing Ron Chew knows is the exhbit is in town. From that time on, the Chinese community has remained mysteriously silent.

There also remains the fact that everybody knew the deceased never gave their consent. Scattle City Council, Schools, There was hardly a news report that did not mention this concern. Yet regardless visitors and schools came.

The only evidence we saw of non-endorsement was the Washington State Convention Center refused to put out their brochures - likely because of the graphic nature.

Attention all cities with cadaver shows appearing or scheduled to open.

Consider ordinances or laws in your city preventing the display of human remains.
San Francisco enacted a police ordinance and the State of Washington will soon sign in a house bill.
Citizens and medical professionals, demand death certificates and verification. Citizens, consider the cultural offensiveness and implications of cadaver displays.
Exhibiting a person's body against their cultural and spiritual belief is wrong - it doesn't matter what country, cultural or religion you belong to, there is no civilized culture in the world that desecrates cadavers for profit.

News

Congratulations!!!!
Today, Jan. 25 2008, the California State Assemby voted to approve legislation prohibiting the display of human remains without the deceased's consent. This is a major victory as this legislation sends a big message around the world!
We will continue to support the similar Washington State House Bill 1253 until it is passed.

- Charlette LeFevre and Philip Lipson
Seattle Museum of the Mysteries

______________________________________________

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-corpse25jan25,0,2070702.story

.....On Thursday the California State Assembly voted 50 to 4 to approve legislation to ensure that the people whose remains are on display consented to be gawked at by the public. The bill next goes to the Senate. "Although plastination was intended to advance medicine and science, many entrepreneurs are using plastination to make outrageous profits by dissecting, mutilating and parading unwilled bodies around the world and in our state," the bill's sponsor, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco), said during Assembly debate. "Asking for consent and verification is not too much to ask."

_____________________________

ABC's Dan Noyez story on their investigation
Lawmaker wants limits on body exhibits Wednesday, January 16, 2008

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=5896409

_________________________________________________________

Bodies Banned in Russia
PRXI Stock falls.
by Brandon Schubert
³BodiesŠThe Exhibition² was supposed to be shown in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Unfortunately, the bodies never quite got past the government, who held them for 6 months before returning them to Premier. Likely, the controversial nature of the exhibit was just too much for the former communist state. The Russia debacle may show the lack of due diligence on the part of management. Announcing an exhibit in a country without fully being aware of the logistical issues led to losing out on 2 cents per share in earnings. There is a large opportunity cost of having the exhibit in storage in a Russian airport hangar instead of being exhibited elsewhere. - Jan 18, 2008
_________________________________________________________

A half-dozen Duke University professors staged a protest of Bodies: The Exhibition

Bodies¹ exhibit draws criticism
By Monica Chen, The Herald-Sun
September 1, 2007
A half-dozen Duke University professors staged a protest of BODIESŠ The Exhibition at The Streets at Southpoint [North Carolina] on Saturday. Holding signs in English and Chinese reading ³Real People ‹ No Consent² and ³For money and gold, abuse human rights,² the protesters handed out leaflets by the ticketing booth as doors to the exhibit opened at noon. Produced by Premier Exhibitions of Atlanta, the BODIES exhibit displays more than 200 preserved organs and dissected bodies with their muscles, blood vessels and brains exposed. The company and many of its customers have defended the exhibit, which debuted in 2005 in Florida, saying it is educational. Critics say it is deeply unethical.....

www.nobodies4profit.org

Elaine Catz, an 11-year employee of the Carnegie Science Centerscience resigned over "Bodies''
Science Center employee quits

"We don't know how these people died or why they died, and I don't think Premier knows, either," she said, referring to the company, Premier Exhibitions of Atlanta, that is presenting the show. "Before we put our stamp of approval on it, there should be a high burden of proof on Premier.''...It was all too much for Ms. Catz, the Carnegie employee who resigned. She questions the provenance of the bodies, the trustworthiness of Chinese assurances and the place of cadaver exhibits in a civilized society. "There are a lot of so-called 'assurances' about this exhibit, but I'm not sure the Carnegie Institute investigated it far enough," said Ms. Catz, ,,, "Asking questions is the only way scientists learn anything, but you have to verify the sources," she said. "The science center is willing to accept the answer they want to hear, without verification, because they want this show to bring in the crowds. That, for me, is where they've strayed from their mission. I tried really hard to tell them that."...

Saturday, January 6, 2007
If only these bodies could talk
By ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr. P-I COLUMNIST
...."We're treating this educational exhibit with a high degree of sacredness -- with dignity and respect." Well, at least he got the "educational" part right. But that in no way excuses this sacrilegious abuse of human bodies that are not allowed to rest in peace. The exhibit does offer a revealing look at the human form. The show -- with 21 whole, desiccated bodies and more than 200 organs and body parts -- left a mostly positive impression on school kids and grown-ups I met at the show. Really, though, how much dignity, sacredness or respect can anyone claim to show for the dead when the bodies are contorted to become volleyball players "digging" at a ball? Or when bodies are forced to strike a pose that mimics how a track- and-field athlete throws a discus? If these cadavers weren't already out of the grave they'd be rolling over in it. But the looky loos keep coming by the thousands each day even as the exhibit ducks a troubling issue: how the corpses of the unclaimed and unidentified Chinese people became part of this moneymaking show and tell. When I first heard about the Chinese bodies being used, two words crossed my mind -- political prisoners.

That thought was followed by a second: What would be the public reaction if these bodies were sub-Saharan pygmies or people of Jewish heritage or Native Americans? Exhibit officials say the bodies are leased from a Chinese medical university that specializes in preserving bodies for medical studies. Liquids were removed from the bodies, which were injected with a silicone material to "plasticize" them. The school supposedly obtained the bodies from the Chinese government, which takes possession of unclaimed or unidentified bodies.

Tour officials say they have contracts with the medical school that assures the bodies were unclaimed and had died of natural causes. That's one way of looking at it. Another comes from the International Examiner, a Seattle-based newspaper that covers Asian American issues. The paper justifiably wonders if any rights were violated because the cadavers couldn't possibly have explicitly consented to their bodies being used for edutainment. A tour spokeswoman even concedes that exhibit officials have to trust the university about the bodies' origins. The Examiner said the presence of family around the time of a person's death is of vital importance in Chinese culture. This fueled suspicions the bodies in the exhibit belonged to the poor or disenfranchised. In a December issue, the Examiner asked: "Is this education or exploitation? The people at the exhibit aren't really interested in having that conversation." Exhibit officials, however, can't stop talking about the missing kidney. They said that because of the preservation process, the kidney poses no health threat. Beyond that, they're just as puzzled as anyone else. "I have no idea what in the world someone would do with a polymer, preserved kidney," LaBelle said. "It is no longer functional." As a learning tool, LaBelle called the kidney, taken from a hands-on public touch booth, "priceless." At the press conference tough questions flew from reporters' lips. How much does the kidney weigh? Is there a backup kidney? Was the kidney dissected? Can we see where the kidney was taken from? Was the kidney insured? And this gem: What kind of public appeal should we make to the kidney thief? As I listened in, I wasn't sure what was worse: the lack of public dialogue about the sanctity of the bodies or so much attention going to a kidney that left the building.

New Development - 2/07
Washington Representatives Sponsors: Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, Rep. Tom Campbell, Rep. Sharon Santos, Rep. Phyllis Kenney, Rep. Jim Moeller. have now sponsored a bill HR Bill 1253 and is now pending in
legislation making it unlawful to display human remains to the public for commercial purposes including any display for which the public is charged a fee without valid written authorization from the deceased.

AN ACT Relating to the commercial display of human remains; adding a new section to chapter 68.50 RCW; and prescribing penalties. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 68.50 RCW to read as follows:
(1)(a) It is unlawful to display human remains to the public for commercial purposes without valid written authorization from the deceased.
The valid written authorization may be given in the last will of the deceased or in a document created under RCW 68.50.160 or 68.50.540, or by a person who has the right to control the disposition of the remains under RCW 68.50.160.
The secretary of the department of health or the secretary's designee must, prior to the display, determine the adequacy of the documentation offered to establish authorization for display. (b) Human remains are presumed to be held in compliance with this section when the remains are in the possession of an institution accredited as a museum or in the possession of an accredited institution of higher education.
(2) This section does not apply to the display of human remains: (a) More than one hundred years old;
(b) Consisting solely of human teeth or hair; (c) As part of the ordinary display or viewing of the deceased at a funeral establishment licensed under chapter 18.39 RCW, or as part of a similar funeral or memorial service; or (d) As objects of religious veneration.
(3) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW. The attorney general or the appropriate prosecuting attorney may bring an action to enjoin a violation of this section in the superior court of Thurston county or the county in which the violation occurs or is about to occur.
(4) As used in this section, "commercial purposes" includes any display for which the public is charged a fee or other consideration.

Please be advised a District Court Complaint has been filed against Premier Exhibitions
in U.|S. Western District Court and is pending.

Arnie Geller - CEO of Premier Exhibits, ScrewYou!
You are like a Nazi Bastard earning a six figure salary off exploiting
the skinned backs of the Chinese poor.
How low can you get?

How low can supporters of this exhibit get?

There is a special place in hell reserved for people like this who culturally desecrate
their fellow human being.

By their own admittance in their ads Premier Exhibition uses real human bodies.
Regardless of their preservation method, these cadavers are still
comprised of tissue, still show facial and identifying features and should still be legally identified as cadavers.

By inherent international guidelines it is a violation of human rights to desecrate
a cadaver against its cultural background for profit.

We are requesting the State of Washington courts to find Premiere Exhibitions guilty of violating the spirit of the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act which expressly prohibits the sale of human tissue for profit and violating local and federal privacy and decency laws and basic human rights by desecrating cadavers in violation of their cultural heritage.

Whereas Premiere Exhibitions has demonstrated and acknowledged receiving revenue for the exchange of organs, tissue and cadavers, either by leasing, selling tickets and marketing for revenue, we believe Premiere Exhibitions should be found guilty of selling human tissue.

Whereas the Chinese cadavers and organs are displayed contrary to the Chinese belief of burying the body whole, we believe Premier Exhibitions has desecrated the bodies.

Whereas all the cadavers are displayed naked with full exposure of genitalia having been exhibited to minors, we believe Premier Exhibitions should be found to have violated local and federal decency and privacy laws.

Whereas Premiere Exhibitions cannot show license and bonding for handling human tissue, organs and cadavers and cannot show a licensed medical physician representative, we believe Premier Exhibitions should be found have violated the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act.

Whereas Premier Exhibitions claims they exhibit for entertainment and is not a medical, educational or non-profit and cannot show any single medical merit of transplantation, we believe Premier Exhibitions should be found guilty of acquiring human tissue, organs without just medical cause.

Whereas Premiere Exhibitions has crossed state lines and developed and furthered a trade of organs, tissue and cadavers without the oversight of any medical organization or medical physician.

Whereas Premiere Exhibitions currently trades stock under NASDAQ as PRXI Premier Exhibitions is a for profit investors corporation and exhibits for profit.

We are requesting the State of Washington courts to find Premiere Exhibitions guilty of violating the spirit of the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act which expressly prohibits the sale of human tissue for profit and violating local and federal privacy and decency laws and basic human rights by desecrating cadavers in violation of their cultural heritage.

If you thought Desecrating a person's body against their cultural belief for Profit is wrong - your right!

The truth of how human cadavers are being sold for
profit in Bodies: The Exhibition - a show of cadavers
marketed under the guise of education and how
Seattle is allowing a violation of human rights and hosting the most
Internationally culturally offensive exhibit in Seattle's history.

China officially admits executed prisoners are the basis of organ trafficking - 11/17/2006
(see news below)

"We're talking potentially about thousands of people who have been drained, pumped with plastic, chopped up
like meat, and then served around the state for commercial purposes,"
- California Democratic Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, - to California Assembly, ABC News Jan 25, 2008.

"Poor Taste" - Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles, Nov. 2006 regarding Bodies: The Exhibiton hosted by
Seattle Theater Group and the Museum of History and Industry.

"We just rent the place " - Museum of History and Industry.

"It sells tickets" - Leonard Garfield, Museum of History and Industry.

"No Comment" - Former Governor Gary Locke, Sept. 2006 regarding Bodies: The Exhibiton in Seattle

I'm troubled by the fact the bodies are from China," "There are a lot of issues there."
"My hands are tied"

- Ron Chew, executive director of the Wing Luke Asian Museum.

"From a cultural perspective, especially since a number of the cadavers are from China, it feels like a gross violation,"
"The willful use of putting a body on indefinite display like that condemns the soul to wander the netherworld with no chance to rest." - Bettie Luke

"You just don't know what kind of bodies you're getting from China because there's
not a lot of regulation. There's a lot of organ harvesting."
- Tan Truong, a Seattle practitioner of Falun Gong - Seattle PI, Thur. Sept. 28, 2006.

...³any activity that transgresses an individual's human rights or involves the coercion of an individual to
become an organ donor² must be condemned. ³The alleged use of organs from executed prisoners
without consent [for financial gain] is [. . .] a breach of human rights and is an unacceptable practice.²
- Stephen Wigmore, chairman of the British Transplantation Society Ethics Committee
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies), April 20, 2006

..egregious human rights abuse...
- Michael E. Parmly, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Consumer Alert! on Bodies: The Exhibiton

Seattle is allowing a violation of human rights and hosting arguably what can be considered the most Internationally culturally offensive exhibit in Seattle's history. The Federal Uniform Anatomical Gift Act explicitly prohibits the selling of human tissue for profit.

Consumers: There is something promoters are not telling the public in their advertisements.
If you thought Desecrating a person's body against their cultural belief for Profit is wrong - your right!

Get the Facts:

1. Promoters are not stating to visitors that the 21 cadavers the exhbit are Chinese and cannot show consent papers. It is felt that if consumers knew the bodies they were looking at did not consent to be displayed to the public and is culturally offensive to the Chinese, they might reconsider attending. Consumers should realize that purchasing a ticket is furthing the trade and exploitation of these cadavers, furthering the cultural offense and supporting this trade.

2. Note that no U.S. physician has endorsed this exhibit. Dr. Roy Glover who is listed as “Chief Medical Advisor” for “Bodies: The Exhibition” is a retired professor of Anatomy from the Univ. of Michigan and is NOT a physician or medical doctor. The Directors also encourage anyone who has already seen the show and if they were not informed of the lack of consent of the cadavers in the exhibit’s advertisement and felt they were misled, to ask for a refund.

It always amazes me how people try and justfity this exhbiit.
But their dead right? Let me spell it out for you...

Desecrating a person's body against their cultural belief for Profit is WRONG!

But its educational!

Desecrating a person's body against their cultural belief for Profit is WRONG!

But thousands of people have seen this exhibit...

Desecrating a person's body against their cultural belief for Profit is WRONG!

But they were unclaimed bodies

Desecrating a person's body against their cultural belief for Profit is WRONG!

But its cool

Desecrating a person's body against their cultural belief for Profit is WRONG!

But it brings in millions of dollars...

Desecrating a person's body against their cultural belief for Profit is WRONG!

The bottom line is these cadavers exhibits are just WRONG.
They are culturally offensive and will always be culturally offensive.

When was unconsenting ever legal not to mention ethical? Consent should not be a debate issue!
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Consent is crucial
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

We teach our kids at an early age to not let strangers touch their bodies and their private parts.
We have consent laws which allow legal organ and blood donation here in the U.S. on our drivers license.
We have decency and privacy laws. What are we teaching our children when we take them to an exhibit that exploits a cultural group with desecrated cadavers stripped naked who when living would never have wanted to be displayed in this manner in direct contrast to their culture? That its ok to be culturally offensive for the sake of education?

The Directors of the Seattle Museum of the Mysteries Charlette LeFevre and Philip Lipson
have filed a federal complaint on the basis that exhibitors do not have consent papers
citing the statement of Dr. Lynn Romrell Ph.D. Executive Director of the Anatomical Board of the State of Florida
and the city of San Francisco's ordinance prohibiting the display of human remains without authorization or consent. The Directors have requested Seattle City Council to adopt San Francisco's ordinance before the exhibit opened Sept. 30th but the Council to date has refused to even look at the ordinance.

Additionally a formal complaint has been sent by the Directors to Amnesty International.
As the exhibitors admit these cadavers are unconsenting and cannot prove their identities and were not
political prisoners, visitors may unknowingly be furthering a human rights violation and violation of the Geneva Convention.

Teacher recommendations. Review the diffent cultures around the world and their burial customs, the burial rites and ethics in medicine. Find out about our consent laws and the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, even the Geneva Convention. (rules posted below).

Seattle is allowing a violation of human rights and hosting the most Internationally culturally offensive exhibit in Seattle's history. Ask yourself, if this is any different than what the Nazi's did to Jews by using medical experimentation to justify their abuse? I

"I thought its illegal to sell, trade and receive undonated or unconsenting body parts in the U.S., even if you are an artist or physician."
- Charlette LeFevre

Bodies, unless my moral compass has gone wildly off course, is the greatest affront to human dignity, the greatest insult to the dead and the rights of their loved ones, that we, in a voyeuristic culture, have ever seen. - Norman Lebrecht, April 11, 2006..... Full Article

Cities and areas that have banned or vetoed the exhibit: or similar types of exhibits.

Ft. Lauderdale by Mayor Jim Naugle
San Francisco - by ordinance 222-05 initiated by City Supervisor Fiona Ma which bans the exhibit of human remains without consent from the deceased.

State Department - Sale of Chinese Organs
Michael E. Parmly, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Hearing Before the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, House International Relations Washington, DC June 27, 2001
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/rm/2001/3792.htm

In the months ahead, we will continue to make clear our strong opposition to the repugnant practice of coercive organ harvesting and will press the Government of China to ensure its organ transplant policies and practices are in compliance with international human rights norms as well as international medical practices.

State Department - State's Parmly on Sale of Human Organs in China (Parmly calls practice "egregious human rights abuse")
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael E. Parmly testified before members of Congress June 27 about what the State Department is doing to put an end to "the repugnant practice of coercive organ harvesting" and trafficking in organs that occurs in China.

David Matas (left) and David Kilgour (right) at the press conference, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada, July 6, 2006
Mattas and David Kilgour Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practioners in China

Christian Science Monitor - China faces suspicions about organ harvesting

OTTAWA: David Matas, international human rights lawyer, and David Kilgour, former Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) for Canada, today released an independent report, following their two-month inquiry into allegations that vital organs are being seized from Falun Gong practitioners across China.
http://investigation.go.saveinter.net/
"We believe that there has been and continues today to be large-scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners."

Amnesty International - Fact Sheet on Falun Gong

China Digital Times - Former Beijing policeman Sun Liyong says he knows the methods used by Chinese authorities to harvest body parts from prisoners.

AsiaNewsIT - China officially admits executed prisoners are the basis of organ trafficking - 11/17/2006
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=7771#

Health authorities acknowledge the problem for the first time. They also recognise the existence of an organ black market but deny public officials are involved, blaming instead surgeons, who in turn, refute such allegations.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) China¹s government has admitted that an illegal traffic in human organs for transplant actually exists, but blamed it on the work of rogue surgeons. For this reason, it has called on the members of the profession to adhere to a ³code of conduct².
Addressing a conference of surgeons in Guangzhou yesterday, Deputy Health Minister Huang Jiefu acknowledged that most organs harvested come from executed prisoners. He insisted that informed consent must inform organ harvesting, that donation be voluntary and done with the consent of donors or their families. ³The harvesting, distribution and use of organs must be closely tracked under responsible supervision by related administrations,² Mr Huang said. ³Under-the-table business must be banned,² Mr Huang said cognizant that too often organs come from non consenting parties and are sold for high fees to foreigners.....

AsiaNewsIT
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=5955
Transplant organs removed without executed prisoners¹ consent British group charges doctors and authorities are involved in the lucrative business. Many are concerned that demand for organs leads to executions. Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) The British Transplantation Society (BTS) announced yesterday that an ³accumulating body of evidence suggests that the organs of executed prisoners are being removed for transplantation without the prior consent of either the prisoner or their family.² The situation is such that China has become the main supplier of transplant organs, involving transplant centres, patients, and the authorities and judiciary responsible for the prisoners in a very lucrative business.
For Stephen Wigmore, chairman of the BTS Ethics Committee, ³any activity that transgresses an individual's human rights or involves the coercion of an individual to become an organ donor² must be condemned. ³The alleged use of organs from executed prisoners without consent [for financial gain] is [. . .] a breach of human rights and is an unacceptable practice.²

Beijing: new health rules to stem organ trafficking
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=6729

Beijing (AsiaNews) The Chinese government has approved a series of new regulations governing the use and transport of corpses and human organs with the aim of preventing illegal trade. The new rules will enter into force on 1 August 2006.

Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Consent is crucial
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Critics of an exhibition of human bodies have put a finger on something intangible and important: consent. Lawmakers here, in Olympia and Washington, D.C., ought to pay attention to the growing controversies that are developing as for-profit exhibits of dead Chinese men, women and fetuses spread around the country. The unease many feel is appropriate. We respect the stated goals of various exhibiters to educate the public about the wonder of the human body and the need to take care of it. (The Seattle P-I is a sponsor of "Bodies ... The Exhibition" here.) But the exhibits traveling around the United States have offered little or no documentation that, during their lives, the people whose bodies are on display gave permission for such an exhibition.
As the P-I has reported, Atlanta-based Premiere Exhibitions, which brought cadavers here, has said its contract with a Chinese university guarantees the bodies are not from political or religious prisoners. Given the anemic state of China's legal system and the government's weak human rights record, it would be only modestly more reassuring if the group made the contracts public. But anyone deserves say about whether his or her body is shown. Last year, San Francisco passed a law requiring proof of consent for such exhibits and empowered health officials to judge the evidence. Seattle City Council, the Legislature and Congress should also demand respect for the wishes of the dead.

Novosti - Russian News and Information Agency - Siberian Court upholds Verdict against corpse-smuggling professor. NOVOSIBIRSK, November 3 (RIA Novosti) - A Siberian court rejected on Friday the appeal of a medical professor convicted of smuggling dozens of corpses to a controversial German anatomist. The presidium of the Novosibirsk regional court in western Siberia upheld the verdict of a lower court against Vladimir Novosyolov, who headed the region's forensic medical examination bureau. The professor, who denies charges of smuggling bodies to German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, had appealed against the lower court's verdict...

Chicago Tribune - ....But there is a vulnerable population in Kyrgyzstan: prisoners, mental-asylum inmates and impoverished people who die in hospitals. Two years ago, Akbokon Tashtanbekov, then a member of parliament, began hearing complaints from his constituents about missing relatives. Tashtanbekov said in a recent phone interview that he didn't believe the stories at first, but he visited the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy in Bishkek, where bodies were prepared at the plastination center. Employees told him the bosses were away and denied him entry.
Then one night as he was passing the academy, he saw that the lights were on inside. He climbed through a window and found himself in a morgue with 110 barrels of human organs and 217 entire corpses stored in refrigerators or immersed in special basins. Tashtanbekov halted the work and sealed off the building to stop employees from removing anything. According to his figures, the academy had obtained more than 800 dead bodies from prisons, psychiatric wards and hospitals, which hadn't always notified the families. Eighteen or 19 children were among them, Tashtanbekov says. "The oldest was 6 years old; the youngest one was only 14 hours old." Prisons allegedly sold bodies for $13 to $15 apiece.
One Kyrgyz resident, Raisa Gerasimenko, will never know what became of her son, Dmitry. Gerasimenko, 65, said in a telephone interview that she received a telegram in 1998 from a psychiatric hospital stating that her brain-damaged son had died. When she tried to pick up the body, she was told it had been sent to the medical academy.
"I was asking them, 'Please give me at least one of his bones, and I'll bury it next to my husband. I'll be crying there for both of them.' But I've gotten nothing." Another missing body is that of Kishinbek Mamakiev, a 71-year-old resident of Bishkek. One night in 2000, he collapsed in the street from a brain hemorrhage while out for a walk, says his brother, Narynbai. He died in a hospital. His family, however, weren't told of his fate, Narynbai says. They spent three years visiting hospitals and morgues and even placing ads on television. Then, in 2003, they received a call from Tashtanbekov, who said he had found Kishinbek Mamakiev's name in the morgue of the medical academy's plastination center. "They took some organs from him and then they buried him, together with another 10 or 20 discarded people," says Narynbai.

One Kyrgyz official told reporters that about a third of the specimens provided by Kyrgyz psychiatric hospitals went to "Body Worlds," and others claim to recognize Kyrgyz features in some of the short-statured figures in "Body Worlds."...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-0507310429jul31,1,3790747.story?page=4&coll=chi-health-utl

"This Seattle exhibit is deeply flawed," Aaron Ginsburg, a pharmacist from Massachusetts, wrote in an e-mail to the Seattle P-I. "The bodies were not donated, and may well have belonged to political prisoners. China is not a nation of laws, and any assurances that the bodies were legally obtained is meaningless."- - Seattle PI, Thur. Sept. 28, 2006.

"I'm troubled by the fact the bodies are from China," said Ron Chew, executive director of the Wing Luke Asian Museum. "There are a lot of issues there." ...

"From a cultural perspective, especially since a number of the cadavers are from China, it feels like a gross violation," said Bettie Luke, who works with various Seattle Chinese American groups. "The willful use of putting a body on indefinite display like that condemns the soul to wander the netherworld with no chance to rest."...

Tan Truong, a Seattle practitioner of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned in China, also is worried about the origin of the cadavers. Though Truong admits there's no proof the bodies are those of imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners or other enemies of the Communist government, he said, "You just don't know what kind of bodies you're getting from China because there's not a lot of regulation. There's a lot of organ harvesting." - Seattle PI, Thur. Sept. 28, 2006.

Chinese-Americans began protesting the San Francisco show, and unlike von Hagens, organizers could not defuse the anger by claiming that the bodies were those of donors. Fiona Ma, a member of the San Francisco board of supervisors, called for a ban on such exhibitions if the bodies are not documented as donors who agreed to be displayed in for-profit shows...."In the Chinese culture they have great respect for the dead and superstition about dead bodies and death. And so I know they would never consent to have their bodies displayed like this, in such a manner," says Ma. "It's really kind of disgusting. The bodies are all chopped up. The skin is all flaring out." _ Fiona Ma, San Francisco City Supervisor on a similar exhibit, July 31, 2005, Chicago Tribune.

The 1987 Unified Antatomical Gift Act explicitly prohibited the sale of human organs.
Federal law expressly prohibits the sale of human tissue with the exception of blood, sperm, or human eggs.
Additionally, the 1984 National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) expressly forbids the selling of human organs across state lines.

Are federal laws being broken by marketing and promoting unconsenting or undonated human remains?
The 1987 Unified Antatomical Gift Act explicitly prohibites the sale of human organs. Federal law expressly prohibits the sale of human tissue with the exception of blood, sperm, or human eggs. The exhibit which is comprised of 21 Chinse unconsenting cadavers and over 200 organ parts is marketed to the public for revenue by Premiere Exhibitions

Because these cadavers in Seattle are admittedly unidentified and may be political prisoners or prisoners of consciousness as Falun Gong practioners, there may be a violation of the Geneva Convention in the treatement of dead bodies.

Articles of the Geneva Convention
http://www.genevaconventions.org/

Art. 11 - Protection of persons

1. The physical or mental health and integrity of persons who are in the power of the adverse Party or who are interned, detained or otherwise deprived of liberty as a result of a situation referred to in Article 1 shall not be endangered by any unjustified act or omission. Accordingly, it is prohibited to subject the persons described in this Article to any medical procedure which is not indicated by the state of health of the person concerned and which is not consistent with generally accepted medical standards which would be applied under similar medical circumstances to persons who are nationals of the Party conducting the procedure and who are in no way deprived of liberty.

2. It is, in particular, prohibited to carry out on such persons, even with their consent: (a) physical mutilations; (b) medical or scientific experiments; (c) removal of tissue or organs for transplantation, except where these acts are justified in conformity with the conditions provided for in paragraph 1.

3. Exceptions to the prohibition in paragraph 2 (c) may be made only in the case of donations of blood for transfusion or of skin for grafting, provided that they are given voluntarily and without any coercion or inducement, and then only for therapeutic purposes, under conditions consistent with generally accepted medical standards and controls designed for the benefit of both the donor and the recipient.

4. Any wilful act or omission which seriously endangers the physical or mental health or integrity of any person who is in the power of a Party other than the one on which he depends and which either violates any of the prohibitions in paragraphs 1 and 2 or fails to comply with the requirements of paragraph 3 shall be a grave breach of this Protocol.

5. The persons described in paragraph 1 have the right to refuse any surgical operation. In case of refusal, medical personnel shall endeavour to obtain a written statement to that effect, signed or acknowledged by the patient.

6. Each Party to the conflict shall keep a medical record for every donation of blood for transfusion or skin for grafting by persons referred to in paragraph 1, if that donation is made under the responsibility of that Party. In addition, each Party to the conflict shall endeavour to keep a record of all medical procedures undertaken with respect to any person who is interned, detained or otherwise deprived of liberty as a result of a situation referred to in Article 1. These records shall be available at all times for inspection by the Protecting Power.
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Burial of the dead must be carried out individually if possible and must be preceded by a careful examination in order to confirm death and establish identity. The burials should be honorable and, if possible, according to the rites of the religion to which the deceased belonged. Graves must be properly maintained, with adequate record keeping, so that they may be found later. (Convention III, Art. 120)

Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, enforced prostitution and any form of indecent assault is prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever, whether committed by civilians or military personnel. (Protocol I, Art. 75)

Prisoners of war must be humanely treated at all times. Any unlawful act which causes death or seriously endangers the health of a prisoner of war is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions. In particular, prisoners must not be subject to physical mutilation, biological experiments, violence, intimidation, insults, and public curiosity. (Convention III, Art. 13)

In the case of missing or dead persons, the main guiding principles for the parties to a conflict and for international humanitarian organizations is the right of families to know the fates of their relatives. (Protocol I, Art. 32)

Civilians must not be coerced to donate blood or skin grafts. (Protocol I, Art. 11, Sec. 3)

Mothers with dependent infants should not be, if at all possible, sentenced to the death penalty for an offense related to the armed conflict, and such sentences must not be carried out. (Protocol I, Art. 76, Sec. 3)

Unidentified Chinese Cadavers
Be Afraid, be Very Afraid.

Seattle will soon be receiving on Sept. 30 th across from the Washington State Convention Center 21 cadavers embalmed in a plastination process and admitted over 200 diseased body parts. So what is the controversy other than a for profit corporation will be getting a high traffic, high profile exhibit spot as opposed to a Seattle artist? These cadavers are all Chinese and unconsenting. Funny, the promoters are not mentioning this in their advertisement to visitors. Not surprisingly, if visitors knew these little facts, it would likely effect their decision to buy a ticket. The public has a right to know who they are looking at right?

Apparently Chinese believe in burying their dead whole so its likely these bodies came from political prisoners who ³happened² to have died suddenly in prison. A bit disturbing giving the display of a family member cut open, naked and in a phony pose is not something the Chinese would ever do. This is being put on by the Seattle Theater Group and Premiere Exhibitions out of Atlanta and is called "Bodies: The Exhibition".

The facts are nobody knows who these cadavers are or what they died of and hence their potential health risk to the public yet. Parents, be afraid. San Francisco health officials in 2005 have studied leaking body fluids from similar cadavers from China and identified the liquid as organic material. ABC news crew in San Fancisco state they¹ve seen liquid pooling under these open air cadavers they verified in their own lab as liquified body fat. As a result of this similar cadaver exhibit and public outcry they enacted an ordinace banning the display of human remains without authorized consent. Ft. Lauderdale also said no to these exhibits. So why is Seattle getting what San Francisco and other major cities just banned last year?

Because the promoters are being sneaky and notified certain people weeks ago as a public outreach. It appears from accredited news sources such as the New York Times, NPR and Forbes, and numerous articles readily available on the internet these exhibits have a way of sneaking into cities and using their visitor count and revenue generation as justification for exhibiting cadavers. I¹ve contacted the promoter Seattle Theater Group and all they say they have is a signature from a physician in China saying everything is legal and the identities are private and not for the public. This is side-stepping at its best.

Ask yourself how can this be given we have strict laws on the selling and recieving of body parts, customs, terrorism laws and even fruit import? Not to mention biohazard risk this may pose to the public from cadavers from a country known for SARS and Avian Flu. Nobody yet in Seattle can seem to verify the identities of these cadavers how they died or cause of death.

The Seattle Museum of the Mysteries has forwarded an ordinance request to the entire Seattle City Council to adopt an ordinance prohibiting the display of human remains without authorization or consent, similar to what San Francisco did in 2005. To date no acceptance of this ordinance. In our opinion, this is an afront to all our health and security measures not to mention a cultural offense to anyone of Chinese background. I encourage people to investigate this mystery as there is alot more information available readily on the internet and call the promoters and see if you get any satisfactory answers. They are after all implying this exhibit is safe for the public and "educational".

Then call your officials, your mayor, King County Dept. of Health and ask them why they are allowing an exhibit of unidentified unconsenting naked cadavers in undignified poses in a public exhibit space and selling tickets to children?

The General Manager of Bodies: The Exhibit and a person identifying himself as a Paramount employee removing free speech protest flyers.
Staff repeatedly sneak out and take down freedom of speech flyers and mop up chalk signage.
Attention all Seattle Theater Group Staffing!
You may be asked by your employer to sneak out and take down freedom of speech flyers and mop up chalk signage on the city owned sidewalk.
Frankly, this is pathetic. Be advised you can/will be held responsible for your own actions.
If this is against your ethics and contrary to your job description, obviously, you have the right to tell your supervisor NO and you feel uncomfortable. If you incur any retaliation, obviously, you have a right to call Labor and Industries and file a complaint.

Former employees have quit. Ask yourself why?

Additionally, the 1984 National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) expressly forbids the selling of human organs across state lines.

_________

Additional information and comments: The Directors have filed a Federal Complaint regarding this Seattle Cadaver Exhibit filed against Premier Exhibitions Case No. 06-1490 in U.S. District Court Western District of Washington in Seattle on Oct. 13, 2006 regarding their exhibit of unconsenting cadavers. The Directors cite the U.S. Anatomical Gift Act which explicitly prohibits the sale of human tissue. The complaint also cited a statement by Dr. Lynn Romrell Ph.D. Executive Director of the Anatomical Board of the State of Florida in which he states the board rejected the same exhibit last year based on the fact that Premiere Exhibitions could not show consent papers were obtained from the deceased. San Francisco last year banned this same type of exhibit enacting ordinance prohibiting the display of human remains without authorization or consent upon request of the Chinese community.
In our request we cite several comments from the local Chinese community:

The Directors also stated they feel Premier Exhibitions is misleading the public by not stating in their advertisement the bodies are all unconsenting Chinese cadavers. The Directors believe visitors have the right to know the facts to decide for themselves as they believe the public would think twice about purchasing a ticket in which they would be viewing unconsenting bodies and furthering this type of trade of human body parts. Premier Exhibitions is a for profit company and is not a medical or educational institution.

"Poor Taste" - Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles, Nov. 2006 regarding Bodies: The Exhibiton hosted by
Seattle Theater Group and the Museum of History and Industry.

"We just rent the place " - Museum of History and Industry.

"It sells tickets" - Leonard Garfield, Museum of History and Industry.

"No Comment" - Former Governor Gary Locke, Sept. 2006 regarding Bodies: The Exhibiton in Seattle

"Poor Taste" - Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles, Nov. 2006 regarding Bodies: The Exhibiton hosted by Seattle Theater Group and the Museum of History and Industry. "We just rent the place " - Museum of History and Industry.

"It sells tickets" - Leonard Garfield, Museum of History and Industry.

"No Comment" - Former Governor Gary Locke, Sept. 2006 regarding Bodies: The Exhibiton in Seattle

"Poor Taste" - Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles, Nov. 2006 regarding Bodies: The Exhibiton hosted by
Seattle Theater Group and the Museum of History and Industry.

"We just rent the place " - Museum of History and Industry.