A travelling exhibit displaying preserved and dissected human bodies has triggered protests and a petition to the mayor for its removal by students and staff at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
Bodies: The Exhibition is an Atlanta-based company that aims to help others better understand the anatomy and health of the human body by viewing real remains, according to the company website. Separate body parts, organs and complete human specimens are all part of the show.
The primary concern about the exhibition is the lack of proof that the bodies were obtained legally, opponents say.
Judith Cheung is the head of the University of Winnipeg’s Falun Dafa Student Group. Falun Dafa, sometimes referred to as Falun Gong, is a Chinese spiritual movement which is illegal and widely persecuted in China. Cheung said members of the group were uneasy about the bodies’ origin.
“We highly suspect that the bodies came from Chinese prisoners,” she said. “At least 90 per cent of transplanted organs there come from Chinese prisoners.”
On their website the exhibition states that the full body specimens are from people who lived in China and died of natural causes. Since their bodies were never claimed they were used for research and educational purposes, the website said. The identities, medical histories and causes of death are kept confidential.
“They would not specify exactly where the bodies came from. It’s possible that some were donated but overwhelming evidence suggests that they were not,” Cheung said.
Falun Dafa organizer and University of Manitoba professor Maria Cheung added, “The show has no educational value. Schools that have attended the show should have notified parents to ask them if they wanted their children to see it.”
Organized protests around the exhibit are causing their own controversy, as students have been banned from protesting on sidewalks close to the centre.
“MTS Centre exhibition hall has been sympathetic and understanding to our cause, but we should be allowed to protest on public property,” Judith Cheung said.
“Some city council members are interested and the story has gained a lot of media attention,” she said. “Overall reaction has been mixed. Most people are unfamiliar with it or completely ignorant about it.”
A similar exhibition called Body Worlds says on their website that the bodies they use are from people who have consented to having their bodies used for educational purposes after they die. The donors’ identities and causes of death are not provided.
“Both exhibits raise the issue of illegally obtained organs,” Maria Cheung said.
“I’m sure they were aware of some of the controversies surrounding the show before signing a deal, but overall we trust the organizers,” said Bruce Rathban, a manager of the MTS Exhibition Hall.
He said the exhibition hall management has been co-operative with the student group.
“We have co-operated in that we have let them protest and raise their concerns to city hall,” he said.
“We want to raise concerns about human rights issues and educate people about the cause,” Judith Cheung said.