Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SR627 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R11759 GM-F
2	2	By: Paxton S.R. No. 627
3	3
4	4
5	5	R E S O L U T I O N
6	6	WHEREAS, Extensive and credible reports have revealed the
7	7	systematic, state-sanctioned harvesting of organs from prisoners
8	8	of conscience in the People's Republic of China; and
9	9	WHEREAS, An article in the Wall Street Journal on February 5,
10	10	2019, entitled "The Nightmare of Human Organ Harvesting in China"
11	11	states that an independent tribunal led by Sir Geoffrey Nice, who
12	12	prosecuted Slobodan Milosevic, concluded in December of 2018 that
13	13	"in China, forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience has
14	14	been practiced for a substantial period of time, involving a very
15	15	substantial number of victims"; and
16	16	WHEREAS, These reports describe a large-scale,
17	17	state-directed organ transplant system, and Falun Gong
18	18	practitioners in custody face the greatest risk of being killed for
19	19	their organs; and
20	20	WHEREAS, Involving meditative exercises and centered on the
21	21	values of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, the spiritual
22	22	practice of Falun Gong gained many followers in China in the 1990s;
23	23	in 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched an intensive
24	24	nationwide campaign to eradicate the practice, and this persecution
25	25	resulted in the detainment of hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong
26	26	practitioners in Chinese reeducation-through-labor camps,
27	27	detention centers, and prisons; and
28	28	WHEREAS, A 2015 Freedom House report found that Falun Gong
29	29	practitioners comprise the largest portion of prisoners of
30	30	conscience in China and face an elevated risk of dying or being
31	31	killed in custody; and
32	32	WHEREAS, China's organ transplant system abounds with
33	33	evidence of misconduct; for example, Chinese custom requires bodies
34	34	to be preserved intact after death, making voluntary organ donation
35	35	rare; however, China's transplant industry has increased
36	36	significantly since 2000; similarly, wait times for emergency liver
37	37	transplants in China are quoted in days or hours, and the wait times
38	38	for nonemergency liver transplants are quoted in weeks; most
39	39	patients in other countries wait years for a liver transplant; and
40	40	WHEREAS, While refusing to acknowledge the harvesting of
41	41	organs from prisoners of conscience, the Chinese government has
42	42	acknowledged the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners; and
43	43	WHEREAS, China's unethical and illegal organ procurement
44	44	practices do not comply with the World Health Organization's
45	45	guidelines for organ procurement, and those who travel to China for
46	46	organ transplants should be aware that organs have been harvested
47	47	from prisoners of conscience; and
48	48	WHEREAS, The Texas Penal Code Title 10, Section 48.02,
49	49	prohibits the purchase and sale of human organs, but unfortunately
50	50	there are no laws protecting those who unwittingly turn to China's
51	51	criminal medical tourism to save their lives; now, therefore, be it
52	52	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 86th Texas Legislature
53	53	hereby condemn the systematic, state-sanctioned harvesting of
54	54	organs from prisoners of conscience in the People's Republic of
55	55	China.