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Attorney general says board has power over 'Bodies'

Charlie Crist weighed in on the controversial exhibit planned for the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry Friday, but it's unclear whether that will affect the Aug. 20 opening.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published August 12, 2005

TAMPA - A decision by Florida's attorney general Friday could scuttle plans for a Tampa museum to display a controversial exhibit featuring human bodies preserved and posed so visitors can see their inner workings.

The board that oversees the delivery and use of human specimens at the state's medical schools took notice of the upcoming exhibit at the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry. The board believes it has the authority to demand proof that the deceased or their families authorized the use of the bodies.

Museum officials argued that the Anatomical Board doesn't have jurisdiction.

But in a letter Friday to board executive director Lynn Romrell, Attorney General Charlie Crist said that because the purpose of "BODIES: The Exhibition" is educational, "it is my opinion that the approval of the Anatomical Board of the State of Florida is required."

What it means for the future of the Tampa exhibit, scheduled to open Aug. 20, remains to be seen. Museum and exhibition officials didn't immediately return calls seeking comment Friday. Arnie Geller, president and CEO of Premier Exhibitions, which is bringing the show to Tampa, told reporters Thursday that it would go on no matter what the board said.

Romrell said Thursday the board wanted to see documentation that permission was obtained to use the bodies. That's impossible, Geller said, because their identities are unknown.

The bodies were preserved at the Dalian Medical University of Plastination Laboratories in China and belonged to Chinese people who died unidentified or unclaimed by family members. Officials said they were obtained legally.

"BODIES, the Exhibition" features 20 full cadavers and 260 other parts preserved with a process that replaces human tissue with silicone rubber. Skin is removed, exposing the rest - muscles, bones, organs, tendons, blood vessels, brains - in all their authentic glory.

The Tampa stop marks the U.S. debut for the exhibit, which is similar to other controversial human anatomy exhibits that have drawn millions of curious spectators around the world, mostly in Europe and Asia. A similar show, called "Body Worlds," opened in the United States last year and has attracted a half million visitors to a Chicago museum since February.

[Last modified August 12, 2005, 16:19:47]