Bill Seeks to Punish China's Forced Organ Harvesting

Amid allegations Chinese Communist Party doctors are harvesting organs from prison camps in a $1 billion industry, American lawmakers are seeking to sanction the CCP for the "egregious" human rights abuses.

"There is growing evidence that the Chinese Communist Party has and continues to harvest organs from prisoners and members of Chinese religious groups," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Wednesday, announcing the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act. "This bill will identify and punish CCP members involved in forced organ harvesting.

"It's past time to hold Beijing accountable for these heinous acts."

According to an international tribunal in London, NBC News reported, Chinese doctors harvest organs from detainees in Chinese prison camps — sometimes while patients are still alive — for sale in a market worth $1 billion a year.

"Organ harvesting is a barbaric, inhumane and egregious act of global significance as transnational human trafficking gangs, terrorist organizations, profiteers and even governments – China's Communist regime in particular – kill innocent people and sell their organs for profit," Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a co-author of the bill, said in a statement.

"A global problem requires a global response. Under our bill, organ harvesters and traffickers, who often prey on vulnerable populations like political prisoners or minorities, will be identified and exposed by the State Department with the goal of punishing perpetrators and promoting effective sanctions and restrictions on travel.

"The bill will help shed more light on these horrific activities, enable the naming of names of the vicious perpetrators and ultimately help put an end to this gruesome human rights abuse."

The legislation authorizes and mandates:

• The U.S. government to deny or revoke passports for illegal organ purchasers.
• Mandates annual reporting on forced organ harvesting in foreign countries. This State Department reporting would identify foreign officials and entities responsible for forced organ harvesting.
• Mandates an annual report on U.S. institutions that train organ transplant surgeons affiliated with foreign entities involved in forced organ harvesting.
• Prohibits the export of organ transplant surgery devices to entities responsible for forced organ harvesting.
• Sanctions foreign officials and entities that engage in or otherwise support forced organ harvesting.

"For years, the Chinese Communist Party has continued to take advantage of prisoners and members of ethnic minority and religious groups," Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y. "Today, we are still witnessing them take further advantage of these groups through organ harvesting.

"Members of the Chinese Communist Party must be held accountable for these unspeakable actions. Forced organ harvesting has no place in our world."

• China Harvests Organs of Religious Minorities
• Study: China Harvesting Organs at Detention Camps