Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR3 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	S.C.R. No. 3
	1	+	By: Paxton, et al. S.C.R. No. 3
	2	+	(Shaheen, Martinez)
2	3
3	4
4	5		SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
5	6		WHEREAS, For the better part of two decades, China's
6	7		communist regime has been engaged in the vile practice of forcibly
7	8		removing human organs for transplant; and
8	9		WHEREAS, In June 2019, the independent China Tribunal
9	10		announced its finding that China's regime had for decades practiced
10	11		systematic forced organ removal from prisoners of conscience; it is
11	12		believed that organs have been harvested from hundreds of thousands
12	13		of incarcerated people, mainly Falun Gong practitioners, but
13	14		possibly also Tibetan Buddhists, House Church Christians, and
14	15		members of the Uyghur Muslim ethnic minority; and
15	16		WHEREAS, China has welcomed an influx of "transplant
16	17		tourism," whereby individuals critically in need of transplants pay
17	18		thousands of dollars for one of 60,000 to 90,000 transplant
18	19		surgeries conducted each year; the number of transplants far
19	20		exceeds the number of voluntary organ donations in the country;
20	21		moreover, Chinese hospitals are able to schedule transplants of
21	22		major organs within two weeks, suggesting nefarious foreknowledge
22	23		regarding the "donation" of these organs; by contrast, America's
23	24		highly developed organ donation system requires that recipients be
24	25		placed on a carefully curated list to await the transplant of an
25	26		organ; the timing of these transplants is not predictable, as an
26	27		organ may not be available for hundreds of days, or in time for a
27	28		specific patient; and
28	29		WHEREAS, Falun Gong, a spiritual practice centered on the
29	30		values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, became
30	31		immensely popular in the 1990s; in July 1999, the Chinese Communist
31	32		Party launched an intensive, nationwide persecution designed to
32	33		eradicate the spiritual practice; Freedom House reported in 2015
33	34		that Falun Gong practitioners are the primary victims of forced
34	35		organ removal and face an elevated risk of dying or being killed in
35	36		custody; and
36	37		WHEREAS, On July 20, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
37	38		denounced 21 years of persecution of Falun Gong by China's
38	39		communist regime, declaring in a press statement: "We call on the
39	40		PRC government to immediately end its depraved abuse and
40	41		mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners, release those imprisoned
41	42		due to their beliefs, [. . .] and address the whereabouts of
42	43		missing practitioners. Twenty-one years of persecution of Falun
43	44		Gong practitioners is far too long, and it must end"; and
44	45		WHEREAS, United Nations Special Rapporteurs have called on
45	46		the Chinese government to account for the sources of organs used in
46	47		transplant practices, and the World Medical Association, the
47	48		American Society of Transplantation, and the Transplantation
48	49		Society have all called for sanctions on Chinese medical
49	50		authorities; resolutions condemning organ harvesting from
50	51		prisoners of conscience have been adopted by the parliaments of
51	52		Canada and the European Union, as well as by the United States House
52	53		of Representatives, and it is important to join the international
53	54		outcry against this major violation of human rights; now,
54	55		therefore, be it
55	56		RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
56	57		hereby strongly condemn China's practice of involuntary organ
57	58		harvesting; and, be it further
58	59		RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
59	60		encourage the medical community to educate Texans about the risks
60	61		of travel to China for organ transplants to help prevent Texas
61	62		residents from unwittingly becoming involved in murder in the form
62	63		of forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience; and, be it
63	64		further
64	65		RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
65	66		respectfully urge the United States Congress and the president of
66	67		the United States to pass laws and adopt measures prohibiting
67	68		collaboration between U.S. medical and pharmaceutical companies
68	69		and any Chinese counterparts linked with forced organ harvesting,
69	70		banning entry into the United States of those who have participated
70	71		in unethical removal of human tissues and organs, and providing for
71	72		the prosecution of such individuals.
72		-	______________________________ ______________________________
73		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
74		-	______________________________ ______________________________
75		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
76		-	I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 3 was adopted by the Senate
77		-	on April 15, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
78		-	______________________________
79		-	Secretary of the Senate
80		-	I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 3 was adopted by the House
81		-	on May 20, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 137, Nays 0,
82		-	two present not voting.
83		-	______________________________
84		-	Chief Clerk of the House
85		-	Approved:
86		-	______________________________
87		-	Date
88		-	______________________________
89		-	Governor