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HR 501
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H. R. No. 501 As Introduced

As Introduced

130th General Assembly

Regular Session

2013-2014

H. R. No. 501

Representatives Stinziano, Curtin

A RESOLUTION

To express concern over persistent and credible reports of systematic state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the People's Republic of China.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       WHEREAS, When performed in accordance with ethical standards, the medical discipline of organ transplantation is one of the great achievements of modern medicine. 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 free consent and that the practice of sourcing organs from prisoners is a violation of ethical guidelines in medicine; and

       WHEREAS, Surgeons in the People's Republic of China perform more than 10,000 organ transplantations each year. Although China's organ transplantation system continues to evolve, the system does not comply with the World Health Organization's requirement of transparency and traceability in organ procurement pathways. The Chinese government has resisted independent scrutiny of its system; 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 and many have been tortured and abused; and

       WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of State's 2011 Country Report on Human Rights for the People's Republic of China stated, in part, "Overseas and domestic media and advocacy groups continued to report instances of organ harvesting, particularly from Falun Gong practitioners and Uighurs;" and

       WHEREAS, The U.N. Committee Against Torture and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture have expressed concern over the allegations of organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners and have called on the Chinese government to increase accountability and transparency in the organ transplant system and punish those responsible for abuses; and

       WHEREAS, In September 2012, experts testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs that American patients travel to the People's Republic of China for organ transplants and that the American medical community continues to cooperate and train with Chinese colleagues, creating a risk that both American patients and medical community may be indirectly aiding abusive practices; now therefore be it

       RESOLVED, That we, the members of the House of Representatives of the 130th General Assembly of the State of Ohio:

       -- Call on the government of the People's Republic of China to immediately end the practice of organ harvesting from all prisoners, particularly from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups;

       -- Call for a full and transparent investigation by the U.S. Department of State into organ transplant practices in the People's Republic of China, and call for the prosecution of those found to have engaged in unethical practices;

       -- Recommend that the U.S. Department of State issue a travel warning for American citizens traveling to the People's Republic of China for organ transplants informing them that the organ source for their operation may be a prisoner of conscience;

       -- Recommend that the U.S. government publicly condemn organ transplantation abuses in China and ban the entry of those who have participated in illegal removal of human tissues and organs and prosecute such individuals if found on U.S. soil;

       -- Demand an immediate end to the 14-year persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice by the Communist Party of China and the immediate release of all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience; and be it further

       RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives send duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the U.S. Secretary of State, the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Washington, D.C., the Speaker and Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore and the Secretary of the U.S. Senate, the members of the Ohio Congressional delegation, and the news media of Ohio.