Where Bodies Are Bought

By: Ariella Lipetz

Posted: 11/25/09

Human bodies displayed in disturbing poses. Intestines and organs decorating the countless walls. Bones suspended every few feet. Sounds like a scene from a Stephen King novel, but in reality this grotesque display is not found in a book. It is found a mere 30 minutes from Stern College for Women. The destination? South Street Seaport.

"Bodies: the Exhibition" is the latest craze to sweep the nation. Operated by Premier Exhibitions, Inc., the exhibit features real body specimens that have been dissected and preserved via a plastination process that prevents decomposition. Once plasticized, the bodies are strategically placed throughout the exhibit according to bodily systems, starting with the skeletal system and ending with the reproductive system. The exhibit contains a total of twenty complete bodies. Visitors learn about the structures and functions of the human body in depth. Although fascinating and captivating, the exhibit begs the question of where the bodies originate.

In 2008, New York State passed legislation regulating body exhibits. Sponsored by Senator Jim Alesi, the legislation requires any company that exhibits human bodies in a New York museum to produce a permit describing their origin. "None of the material [from "Bodies: the Exhibition"] came from criminal institutions or homes from the mentally insane," according to representatives at the Dalian Medical University Plastination Laboratories. Therefore, visitors were lead to believe that their admission money was going to an ethical company. Little did they know that their money was going to an exhibit rooted in the black market.

A report called the "Secret Trade in Chinese Bodies" was conducted by ABC's "20/20" soon after the release of Dalian Medical University Plastination Laboratories' statement. The report claimed that the bodies displayed at "Bodies: the Exhibition" were obtained from the black market for the nominal fee of $300 a body. Further research led investigators to believe that the bodies were those of executed Chinese prisoners. No documents of consent for donating their bodies to science were recorded. Andrew Cuomo, New York Attorney General, completed the investigation of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. "Premier Exhibitions has profited from displaying the remains of individuals who may have been tortured and executed in China," found Cuomo. "Despite repeated denials, we now know that Premier itself cannot demonstrate the circumstances that led to the death of the individuals."

Beyond the moral challenges posed by illegal attainment of the bodies, the exhibit also raises serious halakhic questions concerning the display of the human body in such a way. This debate dates back to the early twentieth century when the query regarding the use of cadavers for science research was posed. Rav Kook took a strong stance, asserting that, since there is an obligation to bury the dead, it is forbidden to benefit from the dead (Shut Da'at Cohein #199). However, Rav Kook did note that gentile cadavers can be used, since the prohibiton of nivul, the unnecessary mutilation of a dead body, only applies to Jewish bodies. On the other hand, Rabbi Benzion Uziel, the Sefardi Chief Rabbi alongside Rav Kook at the time, claimed that Jewish and Gentile cadavers are on the same level and that if the bodies are treated respectfully, then they may be used.

"Treated respectfully," according to Rabbi She'ar-Yashuv Cohen, current Chief Rabbi of Haifa, is not something that the bodies exhibit exemplifies. On the contrary, he maintains that the exhibit displays no dignity for the dead, which negates the fundamental principle in Judaism that all people are created in the image of G-d. This notion was the catalyst for a huge boycott of the exhibit when it premiered in Israel, where it remained open only for a short while thereafter.

Premier Exhibition firmly believes that their exhibition provides visitors with "definite proof that the body is a walking, living work of art." Most visitors would likely agree with this statement. However, what is the likelihood that the Chinese prisoners whose bodies are so gruesomely displayed would also agree? Not very high. "Bodies: the Exhibition" has accumulated much profit and popularity, but at the expense of lawsuits, ethical debates, and insult to various religions. Ethical and religious ramifications should be a concern to potential visitors, and a well thought-out judgment call should be made before supporting it. For those concerned with legally and halakhically protecting the sanctity of the human body, morally opposing "Bodies: the Exhibition" is a no brainer. Literally.