‘We need a penalty that’s commensurate with the crime and the crime is outrageous,’ said lead sponsor Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.)
The House voted 406–1 to pass a measure aimed at punishing perpetrators of state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in China, paving the way for holding accountable those involved in the systematic killing of innocents for profit.
The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act (HR 1503), led by Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and William Keating (D-Mass.), takes aim at the organ transplant abuse and the trafficking of people for that purpose.
The act would sanction anyone implicated in the abuse, including members of the Chinese Communist Party, blocking their property and barring them from engaging in U.S. transactions. Such individuals would also see their visas revoked and lose other immigration benefits.
Under the legislation, those involved in forced organ harvesting would also face a civil fine of $250,000 maximum, and for those engaging in the act willfully, a criminal penalty that goes up to $1,000,000 and a potential 20 years in prison.
“We need a penalty that’s commensurate with the crime and the crime is outrageous,” Smith told The Epoch Times ahead of the vote.
The president would submit a list of individuals who fund, sponsor, or facilitate the abuse in other ways to the appropriate congressional committee within 180 days of the act’s enactment.
The bill would also require a report assessing, in each foreign country, forced organ harvesting and trafficking in persons for that purpose. The latter refers to acts of coercion, abduction, deception, fraud, abuse of power or a position of vulnerability, or transactional exchange to exert control over a targeted person.
If enacted into law, the act would make it a U.S. policy to combat the illicit act, promote the establishment of voluntary organ donation systems with effective enforcement mechanisms in bilateral talks and international health forums, and promote the dignity and security of human life in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Smith said the bill sends a message to anyone who tries to get an organ without caring about where it’s coming from.
“You’re going to pay a huge huge penalty for it,” he said.
By Eva Fu
