Law Would Permit Prisoners to Donate Organs to Reduce Sentences

Law Would Permit Prisoners to Donate Organs to Reduce Sentences

A proposed law in the U.S. state of Massachusetts would permit prisoners to donate their organs to shorten their prison terms.

The proposal faces intense opposition² in the Massachusetts legislature. Experts also say the measure could conflict with a federal law that bans the sale or transfer of human organs for "valuable consideration."

The measure has raised questions about whether prisons would be able to effectively care for the health of organ donors⁴.

Critics call the idea dehumanizing. They also argue that such a law could create pressure on prisoners to donate organs.

Supporters of the bill have suggested it could help feel a need for organ donors in Black and Hispanic communities. Their reasoning is linked to over-jailing rates for those minorities in U.S. prisons.

Kevin Ring is the president of Families Against Mandatory⁵ Minimums, a Washington, D.C.-based criminal justice reform group. He told The Associated Press that supporting organ donation and reducing some prison sentences is good. But he added, "Tying the two together is perverse⁶."

The bill would create a Bone Marrow⁷ and Organ Donation Program within the Massachusetts state Department of Correction. The program would permit prisoners to receive a reduction in their sentence of between 60 days to a year if they have donated bone marrow or organs.

Judith Garcia is a Massachusetts state lawmaker and one of the bill's sponsors. She told the Associated Press that the measure was created to deal with health inequalities. She said such inequalities are linked to, in her words, "the vicious cycle of unjust incarceration⁸ and over-policing of Black and Brown communities."

Garcia said Black and Hispanic communities are at higher risk for health conditions that might require organ donation. In addition, discriminatory incarceration rates reduce the number of available donors that could serve minority communities, she said.

Currently, the need for life-saving organs is great: There are more than 4,600 individuals in Massachusetts – and almost 106,000 people in the U.S. – waiting for organ transplants. About 28 percent of those in Massachusetts identify as Black, Hispanic or Latino, organ donation data shows.

But critics say the proposed law tries to deal with the problem in the wrong way.

George Annas directs the Center for Health Law, Ethics⁹ & Human Rights at Boston University's School of Public Health. He said offering reduced sentences in exchange for organs is not only unethical, but also violates federal law.

"You can't buy an organ. That should end the discussion," Annas said.

Massachusetts state lawmaker Carlos Gonzalez is another co-sponsor of the bill. He defended the proposal, noting that the donor³ program would be voluntary. He also said he is open to establishing a policy that would permit prisoners to donate organs and bone marrow without the promise of a reduced sentence. Gonzalez noted¹⁰ that there is currently no law against prisoner organ donation in Massachusetts.

"It's not quid pro¹ quo. We are open to setting policy without incentives," Gonzalez said.

Words in This Story

transfer – v. to move someone or something from one place to another

perverse – adj. not in keeping with expected or accepted norms

vicious cycle – n. a situation in which one problem causes another problem, which then makes the first problem worse

incarcerate¹² – v. to jail

unethical – adj. morally bad

quid pro quo – n. something given to a person in return for something they have done

incentive¹¹ – n. something that persuades a person to do something

1 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

4 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

6 perverse   

adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的

参考例句：

• It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
• She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态，以使别人难堪来取乐。

7 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

8 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

9 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

12 incarcerate   

v.监禁，禁闭

参考例句：

• Why do you incarcerate yourself in the room every afternoon?你为何每天下午将自己关在房间里？
• Many people think that it is wrong to incarcerate criminals in confined quarters for as long as thirty years.很多人认为把罪犯监禁在禁闭营里达30年之久是不对的。