Bill Text: TX SCR3 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Condemning China's practice of involuntary organ harvesting.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 18-5)

Status: (Passed) 2021-06-07 - Signed by the Governor [SCR3 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-SCR3-Enrolled.html

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S.C.R. No. 3

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, For the better part of two decades, China's
communist regime has been engaged in the vile practice of forcibly
removing human organs for transplant; and
WHEREAS, In June 2019, the independent China Tribunal
announced its finding that China's regime had for decades practiced
systematic forced organ removal from prisoners of conscience; it is
believed that organs have been harvested from hundreds of thousands
of incarcerated people, mainly Falun Gong practitioners, but
possibly also Tibetan Buddhists, House Church Christians, and
members of the Uyghur Muslim ethnic minority; and
WHEREAS, China has welcomed an influx of "transplant
tourism," whereby individuals critically in need of transplants pay
thousands of dollars for one of 60,000 to 90,000 transplant
surgeries conducted each year; the number of transplants far
exceeds the number of voluntary organ donations in the country;
moreover, Chinese hospitals are able to schedule transplants of
major organs within two weeks, suggesting nefarious foreknowledge
regarding the "donation" of these organs; by contrast, America's
highly developed organ donation system requires that recipients be
placed on a carefully curated list to await the transplant of an
organ; the timing of these transplants is not predictable, as an
organ may not be available for hundreds of days, or in time for a
specific patient; and
WHEREAS, Falun Gong, a spiritual practice centered on the
values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, became
immensely popular in the 1990s; in July 1999, the Chinese Communist
Party launched an intensive, nationwide persecution designed to
eradicate the spiritual practice; Freedom House reported in 2015
that Falun Gong practitioners are the primary victims of forced
organ removal and face an elevated risk of dying or being killed in
custody; and
WHEREAS, On July 20, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
denounced 21 years of persecution of Falun Gong by China's
communist regime, declaring in a press statement: "We call on the
PRC government to immediately end its depraved abuse and
mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners, release those imprisoned
due to their beliefs, [. . .] and address the whereabouts of
missing practitioners. Twenty-one years of persecution of Falun
Gong practitioners is far too long, and it must end"; and
WHEREAS, United Nations Special Rapporteurs have called on
the Chinese government to account for the sources of organs used in
transplant practices, and the World Medical Association, the
American Society of Transplantation, and the Transplantation
Society have all called for sanctions on Chinese medical
authorities; resolutions condemning organ harvesting from
prisoners of conscience have been adopted by the parliaments of
Canada and the European Union, as well as by the United States House
of Representatives, and it is important to join the international
outcry against this major violation of human rights; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby strongly condemn China's practice of involuntary organ
harvesting; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
encourage the medical community to educate Texans about the risks
of travel to China for organ transplants to help prevent Texas
residents from unwittingly becoming involved in murder in the form
of forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
respectfully urge the United States Congress and the president of
the United States to pass laws and adopt measures prohibiting
collaboration between U.S. medical and pharmaceutical companies
and any Chinese counterparts linked with forced organ harvesting,
banning entry into the United States of those who have participated
in unethical removal of human tissues and organs, and providing for
the prosecution of such individuals.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 3 was adopted by the Senate
on April 15, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 3 was adopted by the House
on May 20, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 137, Nays 0,
two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor