Bill targets plasticized human remains

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WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- U.S. lawmakers are seeking to ban the importation of preserved human remains, such as those used in popular science exhibits across the nation.

Critics say "Bodies ... The Exhibition" at the Cincinnati Museum Center displays preserved human body parts that could be the remains of Chinese prisoners, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Wednesday.

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., has introduced a bill to prohibit the importation of plastinated human remains, concerned that some of the Chinese people in the exhibit didn't give permission for their bodies to be on display.

"There are ongoing concerns about China's human rights policies and a lot of evidence of abuses, and this is particularly troublesome, this idea of plastinated bodies," Akin said. "The bodies that are used for this should come from people who volunteered."

There 21 co-sponsors of the bill, the newspaper reported.

In Cincinnati, the exhibit features 20 human bodies and 250 body parts that have been preserved using a process called polymer preservation, or plastination.

The bill before Congress bill wouldn't affect any current shows.