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