Another reason to go WTF China

[Medusa]

*headline: Thousands of pills filled with powdered human baby flesh discovered by customs officials in South Korea
South Korea is even sick of China. Seems China has been passing on these 'cure all' pills to South Korea illegally. And where some of them come from will horrify you.

Thousands of pills filled with powdered human flesh have been discovered by customs officials in South Korea, it was revealed today.
The capsules are in demand because they are viewed as being a medicinal 'cure-all'.
The grim trade is being run from China where corrupt medical staff are said to be tipping off medical companies when babies are aborted or delivered still-born.
The tiny corpses are then bought, stored in household refrigerators in homes of those involved in the trade before they are removed and taken to clinics where they are placed in medical drying microwaves.
Once the skin is tinder dry, it is pummelled into powder and then processed into capsules along with herbs to disguise the true ingredients from health investigators and customs officers.

The rest of 'why I say wtf China'

[Caelia]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

Now you know where to get your daily dose of baby, Medusa. ;D

[Medusa]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

Now you know where to get your daily dose of baby, Medusa. ;D

Except I'll just end up being hungry an hour later....

[Dumuzi]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

I love that it is useful for everything. Whenever someone asks me about what meds they should be taking I'll just tell them to take baby pills.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

Ahhh China. I really wish this country wasn't becoming a superpower. Human rights violations, lax regulation unless it directly suits the government, and absolutely no sense of responsibility to the rest of the world. Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.

This one is so gross. Seriously. Why not just cut the crap and sell it as Soilent Green?

[anunitu]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

In reading this,I had so hoped that it was the "Onion",or "Funny or die" then I could say "those crazy bastards with their crazy humor. That this is an actual news story really sets my teeth on edge. When I read the things that humans do,and the lack of caring and concern of people. I would consider that any God would have mercy,and just send us all to oblivion if we cannot find the path to peace and loving.

[Ophidia]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

I think I've said this before, about putting placenta & foreskins in cosmetics.

From what is known, or at least according to the article, the babies were aborted or stillborn fetuses. Everything has a use. Some are just a tad unorthodox. China's apparently got a surplus of expired fetal material. Why not use it up?

They just need some truth-in-labeling laws.

[thalassa]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

China's apparently got a surplus of expired fetal material. Why not use it up?

They just need some truth-in-labeling laws.

I think the problem is more than that of labeling laws... Most parents with stillbirths that aren't choosing to bury their child probably aren't doing so because they can't afford it, and I'm willing to bet that they think their children are at least getting a decent and respectful cremation (since most hygiene and public heath standards call for medical waste/biohazard to be incinerated).

[Corvus]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

I think I've said this before, about putting placenta & foreskins in cosmetics.

From what is known, or at least according to the article, the babies were aborted or stillborn fetuses. Everything has a use. Some are just a tad unorthodox. China's apparently got a surplus of expired fetal material. Why not use it up?

They just need some truth-in-labeling laws.

I agree with this actually. It dose sorta offend by sensibilities but is there anything really wrong with it? maybe a more legitimate would be nice but it's a use.

[Dez]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

There's the ick factor, but there are also some serious health risks we're talking about, here. How many of those stillborn infants died due to disease? How many people are consuming these pills without knowing they contain human?

[Ophidia]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

There's the ick factor, but there are also some serious health risks we're talking about, here. How many of those stillborn infants died due to disease? How many people are consuming these pills without knowing they contain human?

Most commonly spread human diseases wouldn't survive the processing. Most commonly spread human diseases can't even survive the death of the host (cholera being a notable exception). Cannibalism does have a major drawback, tho, one that could survive the host death and processing - prion diseases. Helooo Creutzfeld-Jakobs!

Personally, I'd be more worried about the mystery fillers than the dead babies.

[Medusa]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

As it relates to the dangers of dried up and ashed up fetus:

There is a huge demand for the pills which are thought to enhance stamina. Microwave-dried placenta is also sought after for its alleged 'medicinal' benefits.
However, in reality the human flesh capsules contain super-bacteria and other harmful ingredients.

As it pertains to the idea of, well, you have to put the fetus remains to good use:

There have been disturbing reports that some babies were those who had perished in China's notorious 'dying rooms' where youngsters are deliberately left to die because they were born into families that already had the limit of one child in country areas.
In order to keep its population down, China performs 13 million abortions a year - mainly because mothers sacrifice their newborns to avoid punishment such as severe fines or even a beating by the authorities

[Ophidia]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

If it's one thing I never expected of myself, it's that I've become a moderate on cannibalism.

As it relates to the dangers of dried up and ashed up fetus:

There is a huge demand for the pills which are thought to enhance stamina. Microwave-dried placenta is also sought after for its alleged 'medicinal' benefits.
However, in reality the human flesh capsules contain super-bacteria and other harmful ingredients.

However, in reality the human flesh capsules contain super-bacteria and other harmful ingredients. - the 'super-bacteria' and 'other harmful ingredients' may or may not have originated from the fetuses. People seem to have a misconception about dead bodies, whether they are babies or adults. Living people spread disease, dead people really don't. They mostly just lay around & decompose. There are some exceptions - cholera, HIV can survive about 16 days, some viruses will enter dormancy in cysts - and aforementioned prion diseases like CJD or kuru. Yes, good ol' flesh-eating bacteria can survive on/in dead bodies - but you're more likely to get a flesh eating staph or strep infection from a shared keyboard, or during a routine hospital stay, than you are from a dead body. I also mentioned that I'd be more worried about the other mystery ingredients - like bacterial contamination from dirty factories, poisonous herbs or molds, chemical preservatives, that kind of thing.

I'm not trying to drag China's politics or childbirth policies into this. I think, with some tweaks, the 'one child only' policy is a good idea - but I support Zero Population Growth. China's got a handle on how many human lives it can sustainably support. I remember on a thread about food security/sustainability, for all of China's land (which is home to a huge mass of unforgivable desert and tundra), only about 7% of it is arable. Unlike here, every single Chinese citizen has the right to grow their own food. They are actively encouraged to do so.

I read some of these stories & wonder how much of it is sheer propaganda. China is really a popular bad guy when it comes to human rights violations. We've got executed political prisoners turned into plasticized anatomical museum displays, zoo animals pitted against one another for entertainment, bears and tigers and rhinos used for medications, cardboard filled dumplings, melanine in milk, poisoned dog foods & treats, used condoms in hair bands, lead-enriched toys... and now dead baby pills. Either China is seriously hell on earth for all living things, or it's getting a bad rap from an easily-swayed public and media campaigns. I've only gotten to know one Chinese person from China - and she was from Hong Kong, which apparently isn't like all of China. From what she said, the area where her parents was from was mostly agriculture and manufacturing, kind of like Kansas or Nebraska, only 'prettier' and with almost no corn.

At any rate, using dead people in medicine isn't new. It's been going on for a looooong time.
The Gruesome History of Eating Corpses as Medicine

[Medusa]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

The one child policy seems well intended on paper. But let's be real here. Most of those pills are coming from dead baby girls.

[thalassa]

Re: Another reason to go WTF China

Maybe China should offer tax incentives for girl children...