Pennsylvania Introduces State Resolution Against Organ Harvesting in China

(Minghui.org) The State Senate of Pennsylvania introduced Resolution 98 on May 5 against organ harvesting committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). State Senator Vincent Hughes is the primary sponsor of this resolution.

Pennsylvania State Resolution 98

State Senator Vincent Hughes represents the 7th district

Below is text of the resolution:

A RESOLUTION

Encouraging the medical community of this Commonwealth to help raise awareness of unethical organ transplant practices in China.

WHEREAS, Falun Gong is a spiritual practice with key values of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance for achieving physical and spiritual well-being through exercise and meditation; and

WHEREAS, Since July 1999, Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party, as documented by the United States Department of State, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and many other governmental and third-party organizations; and

WHEREAS, Persecution of Falun Gong practitioners involves the widespread use of torture, forced labor work, brainwashing and other abuses in extralegal reeducation-through-labor camps, detention centers and prisons; and

WHEREAS, Prisoners are forced to undergo medical exams, blood testing, urine testing and x-rays, despite being tortured; 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 the People's Republic of China has prevented independent or impartial inspection, scrutiny and verification of the transplant system; and

WHEREAS, The People's Republic of China implemented regulations in 1984 that permitted the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners; and

WHEREAS, Former Vice Minister of Health, Huang Jiefu, admitted publicly that more than 90% of transplant organs extracted from deceased donors stemmed from executed prisoners in China; and

WHEREAS, Organs were forcibly harvested from Falun Gong practitioners in detention centers and prisons without voluntary and informed consent; and

WHEREAS, It is estimated that since 1999, more than 1 million Falun Gong practitioners have been detained and that approximately 65,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been killed for their organs; and

WHEREAS, Hospitals receive organs from these prisons and the harvested organs are then used for transplants; and

WHEREAS, Recipients for these transplants are Chinese or individuals from abroad, including United States citizens; and

WHEREAS, The Government of the People's Republic of China continues to deny reports that many organs are taken without the consent of prisoners, yet prevents independent verification of its transplant system; and

WHEREAS, In June 2001, Chinese doctor Wang Guoqi testified before the United States House of Representatives International Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights that hospitals work in collusion with state security agencies to extract organs from executed prisoners without written consent of the organ donors and that these transplants were a lucrative source of income; and

WHEREAS, The United States Department of State, in its 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices stated, “Overseas and domestic media and advocacy groups continued to report instances of organ harvesting, particularly from Falun Gong practitioners and Uighurs”; and

WHEREAS, In May 2012, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong released telephone transcripts and audio recordings of conversations between undercover investigators and senior Chinese Communist Party officials, in which several officials indicated that central authorities were aware of or involved in organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners; and

WHEREAS, Voluntary and informed consent is the precondition for ethical organ donation and international medical organizations state that prisoners deprived of their freedom are not in the position to give consent; and

WHEREAS, The People's Republic of China has not officially repealed provisions implemented in 1984 which permit the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners, therefore the use of organs from executed prisoners remains legal; and

WHEREAS, The officially reported transplant numbers in China increased threefold nationwide between 1999 and 2004, parallel to the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong; and

WHEREAS, The current co-chairperson of the National Health and Family Planning Commission's Human Organ and Transplant Committee, Dr. Huang Jiefu, claimed that China would stop sourcing organs from executed prisoners on January 1, 2015, yet no official agency of the People's Republic of China has made this declaration nor has Huang's claim been verified by independent researchers; and

WHEREAS, Chinese officials have reclassified death row prisoners as "ordinary citizens" with the right to donate their organs, although the use of prisoner organs for transplant is specifically banned by international medical organizations; and

WHEREAS, In May 2016, Huang Jiefu announced via state-run media that China will increase the number of transplant centers from 169 to 300 over the next five years; and

WHEREAS, The latest research estimates that the People’s Republic of China performs far more organ transplants each year than its official figure of 10,000 indicates, and more than any other country in the world, despite having few voluntary donors; and

WHEREAS, Updated evidence estimates between 30,000 to 100,000 transplants occur annually in China without identified organ sources; and

WHEREAS, Updated evidence suggests up to 1.5 million Falun Gong practitioners may have been killed for their organs since 2001; and

WHEREAS, In 2015, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's annual report again listed China as a "country of particular concern," due to severe violations of human rights and illegal organ harvesting practices stating, "Imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners are particularly targeted"; and

WHEREAS, In 2015 and 2016, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China condemned ongoing unethical forced organ harvesting practices in China; and

WHEREAS, In June 2016, the United States House of Representatives passed House Resolution 343 expressing concern over China’s organ procurement from nonconsenting prisoners of conscience, including from “large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups”; and

WHEREAS, The practice of sourcing organs from prisoners is a violation of ethical guidelines in medicine; and 

WHEREAS, The killing of prisoners for the purpose of selling their organs for transplant is an intolerable violation of the fundamental right to life; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania call upon the Government of the People's Republic of China to immediately end the practice of forced organ harvesting from all prisoners, particularly from Falun Gong prisoners and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania call upon 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 be it further

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania call upon the United States Government to initiate a prohibition for each United States teaching hospital to train Chinese doctors in transplant surgery until the People's Republic of China facilitates independent, impartial inspections of its transplant infrastructure; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania suggest that the United States Government enact legislation that will prohibit United States citizens from receiving organs abroad where organ sourcing is not transparent and traceable according to internationally accepted guidelines; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania urge the United States Government to commence a full and transparent investigation into organ transplant practices in the People’s Republic of China; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania call upon the United States Government to prohibit any doctors involved in unethical organ procurement or transplantation surgery using organs harvested from living prisoners in China from gaining entry into the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania request the medical community of this Commonwealth to caution patients against traveling to China for organs; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania encourage the medical community of this Commonwealth to help raise awareness of unethical organ transplant practices in China; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States and the Secretary of State of the United States and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.