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8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This joint resolution expresses strong opposition to the People's Republic of China's
11 organ harvesting practices.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 ▸ calls upon the People's Republic of China to end its practice of forced organ
15 harvesting from prisoners;
16 ▸ calls upon the United States government to enact laws related to the People's
17 Republic of China's organ harvesting practices; and
18 ▸ encourages Utah's medical community to raise awareness regarding the People's
19 Republic of China's unethical organ harvesting practices.
20 Special Clauses:
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23 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
24 WHEREAS, there continue to be persistent and credible reports of systematic,
25 state-sanctioned organ harvesting from nonconsenting prisoners of conscience and members of
26 religious and ethnic minority groups in the People's Republic of China, resulting in killings of
27 members of groups including Uyghurs, Tibetans, select Christians, and practitioners of Falun
28 Gong, in order to obtain organs for transplants;
29 WHEREAS, the People's Republic of China's organ harvesting practices do not comply
30 with the World Health Organization's requirement for transparent organ procurement practices;
31 WHEREAS, the People's Republic of China has prevented any independent or impartial
32 inspection and verification of its organ harvesting practices;
33 WHEREAS, the People's Republic of China has not repealed provisions implemented
34 in 1984 permitting the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners;
35 WHEREAS, the use of prisoner organs for transplant purposes is banned by
36 international medical organizations;
37 WHEREAS, in June 2016, the United States House of Representatives passed House
38 Resolution 343 expressing concern over China's organ procurement from non-consenting
39 prisoners, and since then at least 11 states have passed similar resolutions;
40 WHEREAS, the killing of any prisoner, including religious or political prisoners, for
41 the purposes of organ harvesting, is a human rights violation;
42 WHEREAS, in May 2016, Chinese officials announced that the People's Republic of
43 China will increase the number of transplant centers in the People's Republic of China from
44 169 to 300 over the next five years;
45 WHEREAS, large discrepancies exist between the People's Republic of China's
46 reported transplant numbers and those estimated by independent researchers;
47 WHEREAS, independent researchers estimate between 30,000 and 100,000 transplants
48 occur annually in China without identified organ sources;
49 WHEREAS, the China Tribunal, an independent tribunal, declared in December 2018
50 that forced organ harvesting has been committed for years throughout China on a significant
51 scale and that Falun Gong practitioners have been one, and probably the main, source of organ
52 supply; and
53 WHEREAS, recipients for these transplants are Chinese citizens or individuals from
54 abroad, including United States citizens:
55 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah calls
56 upon the People's Republic of China to end its practice of forced organ harvesting, including
57 from all prisoners, religious, political, or otherwise.
58 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah calls upon the
59 United States government to prohibit teaching hospitals in the United States from training
60 doctors of the People's Republic of China in transplant surgery until the People's Republic of
61 China facilitates independent and impartial inspections of its transplant facilities.
62 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah calls upon the
63 United States government to enact legislation to prohibit United States citizens from receiving
64 organ transplants in China.
65 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah encourages
66 Utah's medical community to raise awareness regarding the People's Republic of China's
67 unethical organ harvesting practices.