Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Congressmen Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) and Tom Suozzi (D-New York) today announced the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act, which aims to prevent the Chinese Communist Party from harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience. According to an international tribunal in London, Chinese doctors harvest organs from detainees in Chinese prison camps—sometimes while patients are still alive—for sale in a market worth $1 billion a year.
Bill text may be found here.
“There is growing evidence that the Chinese Communist Party has and continues to harvest organs from prisoners and members of Chinese religious groups. This bill will identify and punish CCP members involved in forced organ harvesting. It’s past time to hold Beijing accountable for these heinous acts,” said Cotton.
“Organ harvesting is a barbaric, inhumane and egregious act of global significance as transnational human trafficking gangs, terrorist organizations, profiteers and even governments – China’s Communist regime in particular – kill innocent people and sell their organs for profit,” said Smith. “A global problem requires a global response. Under our bill, organ harvesters and traffickers, who often prey on vulnerable populations like political prisoners or minorities, will be identified and exposed by the State Department with the goal of punishing perpetrators and promoting effective sanctions and restrictions on travel. The bill will help shed more light on these horrific activities, enable the naming of names of the vicious perpetrators and ultimately help put an end this gruesome human rights abuse.”
“For years, the Chinese Communist Party has continued to take advantage of prisoners and members of ethnic minority and religious groups. Today, we are still witnessing them take further advantage of these groups through organ harvesting,” said Suozzi. “Members of the Chinese Communist Party must be held accountable for these unspeakable actions. Forced organ harvesting has no place in our world.”
Background
The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act:
- Authorizes the U.S. government to deny or revoke passports for illegal organ purchasers.
- Mandates annual reporting on forced organ harvesting in foreign countries. This State Department reporting would identify foreign officials and entities responsible for forced organ harvesting.
- Mandates an annual report on U.S. institutions that train organ transplant surgeons affiliated with foreign entities involved in forced organ harvesting.
- Prohibits the export of organ transplant surgery devices to entities responsible for forced organ harvesting.
- Sanctions foreign officials and entities that engage in or otherwise support forced organ harvesting.
