Hawaii Shuts Down Real Human Bodies Show

Hawaii has become the first state to officially ban exhibitions of human bodies for profit, shutting down the popular "BODIES…the Exhibition" show that displays "unclaimed" bodies from China.

Hawaii has become the first state to officially ban exhibitions of human bodies for profit, shutting...

Hawaii has become the first state to officially ban exhibitions of human bodies for profit, shutting down the popular "BODIES…the Exhibition" show that displays "unclaimed" bodies from China. Lawmakers in the island state said the possibility of profiting off executed prisoners from China would not be tolerated in a state where many residents come from Asian backgrounds.

(Bodies/ABC News)
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Lawmakers in the island state said the possibility of profiting off executed prisoners from China would not be tolerated in a state where many residents come from Asian backgrounds.

Premier Exhibitions, the publicly traded Atlanta-based company that puts on the show, has made millions of dollars from "BODIES" exhibits across the country, in Europe and in Asia.

State Rep. Marcus Oshiro, Chair of the House Committee on Finance, said he introduced his state's legislation after watching the ABC News 20/20 probe into the origins of the bodies.

Click here to watch the investigative report on the bodies exhibition.

The 2008 report uncovered a thriving black market in human bodies in China and a self-admitted dealer in the bodies black market who described "body runs" to a location where bodies, including those of executed prisoners, were sold for $200 to $300.

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"I never thought the show would come to Hawaii and when it did I decided Hawaiians would not tolerate the exhibition of these bodies for commercial profit. These people could be executed prisoners," Oshiro said.

"Hawaii has a large population of people with an Asian background so that hits very close to home," he added.

The new law also increases the financial penalty for misuse of a dead human body from $1,000 to $5,000.

Oshiro said that Hawaii's main historical museum does exhibit the sacred bones of native Hawaiians, and there are provisions in the state bill that allow for that exhibition to continue.

Some critics of the bill say that there is no difference between the display of those ancient remains and the plastinated Chinese bodies.

"I visited the exhibit. I learned something," wrote one blogger under the name "Publius808" in support of the exhibition in Hawaii. "If the allegations are true that these bodies were used without permission, then that's terrible. But this law is banal and sophomoric putting personal bias over science and art."