Reported by: Jay Warren
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: Jason Garrison
Unclaimed and unidentified bodies from China will be on display at the Museum Center starting Friday.
Bodies...The Exhibition is drawing criticism from Cincinnati's Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk – and from concerned residents like Janice Jezek and her brother Morris Tsai.
"These bodies are on display, the way they are, without informed consent," said Jezek.
Jezek and Tsai suggest that, at best, the bodies were those of the poor and downtrodden who never agreed to be dissected and put on display.
Premier Exhibitions acquires the bodies from Dalian Medical University in China.
It is where the university acquires the bodies that alarms many who are concerned about human rights.
"The university gets the bodies from the government in China, and there are a lot of questionable things regarding the government in China right now. There's human rights issues," continued Jezek.
Human rights organizations suggest the possibility is left open that these bodies could be that of political prisoners.
In a statement Premier Exhibitions said:
"Legal documentation provided to Premier Exhibitions by Dalian Medical University states that only the bodies of people who are deceased from natural causes have been included in Bodies...The Exhibition and were acquired by Dalian Medical University by legal and ethical means."
Premier Exhibitions also says it has visited the university in China to make sure the process is both legal and moral.
Premier Exhibitions acknowledges that the bodies are those of the "unclaimed and unidentified," but say that in both China and the United States those bodies are used for medical research.
Tsai suggests if the bodies came from closer to home, more people might object.
"The idea that just using unclaimed bodies is enough of a justification to do things is wrong," said Tsai.
"I mean, with that really low level of standard you could actually do an exhibit of [Hurricane] Katrina victims," Tsai argued. "There's over one hundred Katrina victims that are still left unclaimed."
In the meantime, the Museum Center's CEO Douglas McDonald said he was surprised at the Archbishop's position and says the display should teach people to learn more about and respect their bodies.