Scandalous Real Bodies at Horseshoe Las Vegas
Museums are a place for learning. When we think of museums, we mostly associate it with historical artefacts, but there is such a place where you can witness human bodies in their original form.
A museum in Las Vegas Horseshoe is such a place. You can see the real human bodies preserved and displayed. These bodies are plasticised which refers to removing excess blood and fats from the human body and replacing it with plastics that mould their place. A creepy process where the autonomy of the human flesh remains at its original form.
But the intriguing fact is that there is very little information regarding where most of the bodies came from. Some bodies are legitimately donated by citizens, but in most cases these bodies are recognised as unclaimed specimens delivered by the Chinese Government. One can easily see that these bodies are of Asian descent. The Chinese medical universities claim these are unclaimed, and are perfectly legal to use in the name of science.
However, there are concerns. Human rights advocates have always demonstrated much cynicism in believing what an autocratic government has to say. Human Rights Watch and Reutors raised questions alleging that these are the bodies of Chinese prisoners. There have been previous scandals regarding body trafficking in Russia and the Kyrgyz Republic. The bodies obtained from North America and Europe are vetted and have permission in writing from the donors. But the bodies coming from China have no such legally or morally binding documents. All we have is the assurance from the Chinese officials that these are unclaimed.
There had been a scandal in Germany a few years ago where customs officers intercepted 56 bodies and hundreds of brain samples sent from the Novosibirsk Medical Academy to von Hagens’ lab in Heidelberg, Germany. The cadavers were traced to a Russian medical examiner who was convicted last year of illegally selling the bodies of homeless people, prisoners and indigent hospital patients.
On the other hand, groups such as Laogai Research Foundation who documents human rights violations in China have claimed that these unclaimed bodies contain political prisoners and prisoners from the opposition to the Chinese Communist Party. There is also worry about these bodies coming from executed patients of insane asylums located within China. There is no other way to confirm this as China does not provide any legal documentation regarding these bodies.
Some religious institutions such as the Catholic Church raised concerns about displayed bodies to underaged children in such an open forum. The argument for them is that these bodies are meant to be decayed in their natural ways, but to use them for non medical purposes are unethical.
Whatever the circumstance, it is fascinating that we have the opportunity to witness humanity in its most primal form. It is a scary experience for most. But the ethical dilemma is also a factor. In many cases identities of these people are not known, and it seems that not knowing if they consented to be a part of our amusement after their death is a concerning ethical question.
