Bill Text: MI HR0204 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: A resolution to condemn state-sanctioned, forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in the People’s Republic of China, urge action by the President of the United States and the U.S. medical community, and demand an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-11-28 - Referred To Committee On Health Policy [HR0204 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2017-HR0204-Introduced.html

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            Rep. Zemke offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 204.

            A resolution to condemn state-sanctioned, forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in the People’s Republic of China, urge action by the President of the United States and the U.S. medical community, and demand an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

            Whereas, When performed in accordance with ethical standards, the medical discipline of organ transplantation is one of the great achievements of modern medicine. Organ transplantation depends on altruistic organ donation, which is based on the free, voluntary, and informed consent of the donor; and

            Whereas, International medical organizations state that prisoners, deprived of their freedom, are not in the position to give free consent and that the practice of sourcing organs from prisoners is a violation of ethical guidelines in medicine; and

            Whereas, The organ transplantation system in China does not comply with the World Health Organization’s requirement of transparency and traceability in organ procurement pathways; and

            Whereas, The United States Department of State Country Report on Human Rights for China for 2014 stated, "Advocacy groups continued to report instances of organ harvesting from prisoners"; and

Whereas, Falun Gong, a spiritual practice involving meditative "qigong" exercise and centered on the values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, became immensely popular in the 1990s; and

            Whereas, In July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched an intensive, nationwide persecution designed to eradicate the spiritual practice of Falun Gong, reflecting the party’s long-standing intolerance of large independent civil society groups. Since 1999, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained extra-legally in re-education-through-labor camps, detention centers, and prisons, where torture and abuse are routine; and

            Whereas, Freedom House reported in 2015 that Falun Gong practitioners comprise the largest portion of "prisoners of conscience" in China and face an elevated risk of dying or being killed in custody; and

Whereas, In 2006, Canadian researchers David Matas, human rights attorney, and David Kilgour, the former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific, conducted an independent investigation into allegations of organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners in China and concluded that Falun Gong practitioners being killed for their organs was highly probable. Matas and Kilgour implicated state and party entities, including domestic security services and military hospitals in illicit organ harvesting; and

Whereas, The United Nations Committee Against Torture and the Special Rapporteur on Torture have expressed concern over the allegations of organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners, and have called on the government of the People’s Republic of China to increase accountability and transparency in the organ transplant system and punish those responsible for abuses; and

            Whereas, Kilgour, Matas, and investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann released a report on June 22, 2016, that the number of organ transplants in China far exceeds official Chinese government statistics. The source for most of the massive volume of organs for transplants is the killing of prisoners of conscience, primarily targeting Falun Gong practitioners; and

Whereas, The killing of religious or political prisoners for the purpose of selling their organs for transplant is an egregious and intolerable violation of the fundamental right to life; and

            Whereas, In September 2012, experts testified before the United States House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee that United States patients continue to travel to China for organ transplants and that the medical community continues cooperation and training with Chinese colleagues, creating the risk that they may be indirectly aiding abusive practices; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, that we:

1. Condemn the practice of state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China;
2. Call on the government of the People’s Republic of China and Communist Party of China to immediately end the practice of organ harvesting from all prisoners of conscience;
3. Demand an immediate end to the 18-year persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice by the government of the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party of China, and the immediate release of all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience;
4. Encourage the United States medical community to help raise awareness of unethical organ transplant practices in China; and
5. Urge the President of the United States to undertake a full and transparent investigation by the United States Department of State into organ transplant practices in the People’s Republic of China and put up appropriate barriers to prevent U.S. citizens from getting these organs; and be it further

 Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States and the United States Department of State, members of the Michigan congressional delegation, and the American Medical Association.