France Shuts Down Popular Bodies Show
French Judge Ruled That Exhibiting Human Bodies For Profit is Against the Law
Congress Members Applaud Order to Close Bodies Exhibit
Pascal Bernardin, the manager of Encore Events, the company that puts on the show in France, said the ruling was "absurd" and that he is appealing the decision.
"Thousands of people have written to me saying how much they loved and learned from this. It's done with class and is artistic and respectful," he said.
Having officially received the ordinance Wednesday, he said he planned to close the doors to the exhibit Thursday until he goes to the appellate court.
Bernardin said he believes that all the bodies put on display, which he said he obtained from a medical and anatomical foundation in Hong Kong, were donated by either the Chinese individual or his or her close relative.
"I don't know exactly where the bodies came from -- all I know is that I have all the guaranties from the foundation that they have double checked [that each organ or body was donated] and that they have been respectful," said Bernardin.
Bernardin said he has a committee of surgeons and anatomists who declared that there was no trace that any of the bodies had undergone physical trauma or that they came from executed persons.
"Everyone gets excited because there is the death penalty in China but you have the death penalty in the US. I don't think that because you have death penalty in China the medical world is trying to take advantage of that," he said, adding that of the 1.3 billion people in China, there must be people willing to donate their bodies to science.
Members of Congress who sponsored legislation to ban the importation of human bodies from China applauded the decision in France.
"These pay-to-view spectacles of human corpses violate the dead and desensitize the living, diminishing our respect for the human person. In recent years many countries have banned trafficking in persons and organ trafficking—I hope that the action of the French judge is a first step toward banning the trafficking in corpses for public display," said Rep. Chris Hill (R-NY), ranking member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China which monitors human rights in China.
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