Massachusetts Bill allowing Prisoners to trade Organs for Reduced Sentences

[MayReasonRule]

Last edited Sat Jan 28, 2023, 03:12 PM - Edit history (1)

The Bill

What would you give for your life?

What would you give for your freedom?

CO-SPONSORS
Carlos González, Democrat 10th District
Judith A. Garcia, Democrat 11th District
Shirley B. Arriaga, Democrat 8th District
Bud L. Williams, Democrat 11th District
Russell E. Holmes, Democrat 6th District

Would you let the government take your organs for a shorter sentence?

It’s unethical, it’s coercive, it’s a slippery slope to some Repo: the Genetic Opera horse-shit.
I'd expect this out of the Nat-C Fascist GOP, not the Democratic party for fucks-sake.

Massachusetts has some of the best doctors, nurses, hospitals. I can’t imagine they would find this ethical.

Organ donation is a huge process. You need to be medically evaluated as a match to the recipient but you also undergo testing to make sure you are physically and mentally capable of transplant. Part of that evaluation is a meeting with a mental health professional to glean of course if you’re capable of handling the post-transplant regimen but also to determine if there are strings attached to donation.

They will not push forward with a match where there is ethical ambiguity. I don’t see how this program would proceed past that stage because it is very much a transaction with strings attached.

If one wishes to increase the pool of available organs there are steps we can take like educating the general public about live donation, encouraging people to register as a donor, dispelling myths about transplant etc.

But probably the biggest thing we can do is challenge dialysis companies like DaVita and Fresenius - who lobby against bills that expand access to prescription drug coverage for transplant recipients.

These are for profit companies that make money by keeping people on dialysis, even when transplant is often the better path. They’ve lobbied against bills that would expand Medicare coverage of immunosuppressive drugs, which are required for the life of the transplant.

The number one cause of transplant rejection and return to dialysis is non-compliance - but this is usually due to patients not being able to afford medication.

You want the list to be shorter, the cost to tax payers to be less (Medicare funds dialysis) - you don’t grow the pool of available kidneys, you shrink the pool of who needs them by providing better support to transplant patients and stopping for profit dialysis companies from predatory practices (including advising dialysis as a long term solution to organ failure).

May reason rule.

[XanaDUer2]

1. No

This is horrible wtaf

[MayReasonRule]

11. Notice the co-sponsors of the bill

They're each a member of our party.

I don't see anyway that they could possibly be naïve enough to not see the horrible injustices that will come about from such ham-fisted debauchery.

Indeed.

What the actual fuck?

[KT2000]

25. Agree

and I am surprised about the Democrats supporting this bill. It has long been a desire of the free market right wing to "allow" people to sell their organs. Their justifications are frightening.

It is common in some countries already, that certain organs can be used as collateral for loans, India for one. It is not enough in this country that we are growing a poverty class with low wages and no benefits, but now some want to make them (us) more useful to the ruling class.

Unbelievable how low we have become.

[XanaDUer2]

2. Are they paid for their organs ?

[MayReasonRule]

12. They would be trading them...

...for a reduction of their prison sentence.

[XanaDUer2]

16. Wow. Coerced organ farming

Nt

[MayReasonRule]

19. Why would four members of our party sponsor such a bill?

I'm in process of taking a deep dive to see where the money leads.

It's the old adage... Money talks...

Gonna' see what it has to say...

[XanaDUer2]

18. I may have misunderstood

Maybe they donate the oegans after death? I didn't see that. If it's while alive, then this is sick. I'm pretty disgusted democrats are sponsoring this.

[MayReasonRule]

20. This is for sentence reduction, so nope. Excerpts from the bill...

The Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Program shall allow eligible incarcerated individuals to gain not less than 60 and not more than 365 day reduction in the length of their committed sentence in Department of Corrections facilities, or House of Correction facilities if they are serving a Department of Correction sentence in a House of Corrections facility, on the condition that the incarcerated individual has donated bone marrow or organ(s).

The Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Committee shall consist of five members: The Commissioner of the Department of Correction or their designee who will act as chair of the committee; the Medical Director of the Department of Corrections or their designee; a Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Specialist from a hospital within the Commonwealth or their designee; a representative of an organization advocating for bone marrow donations within the Commonwealth or their designee; and two appointments shall be made by the Governor to serve three-year terms and one of whom shall be a board member of an advocacy group advocating for the rights of incarcerated individuals, and one of whom shall be from the Massachusetts District Attorney’s Association. The Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Committee shall be responsible for the effective implementation and ongoing administration of the incarcerated individual Bone Marrow and Organ Donation program. The Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Committee shall also be responsible for promulgating standards of eligibility for incarcerated individuals to participate and the amount of bone marrow and organ(s) donated to earn one’s sentence to be commuted.

[XanaDUer2]

21. Wow. Some Dems are assholes

This is scary af

[MayReasonRule]

23. I'm still looking at the money trail...

I honestly haven't seen giant money on the books as of yet.

Of course there are many other types of quid pro quo other than campaign donations.

None of these individuals appear to be a proverbial sweet summer child, so to speak.

It makes less than zero sense.

[XanaDUer2]

24. I'm really disgusted nt

[TheFarseer]

3. Maybe to be an organ donor

But this is a dystopian movie plot.

[patricia92243]

4. Give your organ and go free to continue being a serial killer,(sarcasm)

[Raven123]

5. Absolutely disgraceful. Dehumanizing. Basically saying, " we take bribes."

[Hugh_Lebowski]

6. Can we have your liver, then? (nt)

[markodochartaigh]

27. "Can we have your liver, then?"

The Galaxy Song is one of the classics of modern music, in my opinion.

[Chainfire]

7. They should also consider early release if a thief is willing to give up his hand

or releasing a peeping tom who willingly gives up his eyes. What a horrible idea.

[keithbvadu2]

8. When I needed money, I sold two kidneys.

(from tv comedy Two Broke Girls)
When I needed money, I sold two kidneys.
But you need at least one to live.
Oh, they weren't mine.

[rubbersole]

9. 😜

[yorkster]

10. First they came for my liver... n/t

[LonePirate]

13. This is horrific. This is effectively human trafficking. Disgusting.

[MayReasonRule]

14. Are these individuals without logic?

All the co-sponsors are members of our party.

What the actual fuck.

[Tetrachloride]

15. Not a good idea. China and other places

have related tactics

[cutroot]

17. Just imagine how that would affect a judges decision making process if ...

He needed a kidney for himself or someone in his family and the perfect match was standing before him pleading not guilty

[XanaDUer2]

22. Its mind blowing nt

[friend of a friend]

26. That is disgusting.