VOA新闻杂志2023 美国一州议员提案允许囚犯捐器官换减刑

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

美国马萨诸塞州的一项拟议法律将允许囚犯捐赠器官以缩短刑期。

The proposal faces intense opposition² in the Massachusetts legislature.

该提案在马萨诸塞州立法机构遭到强烈反对。

Experts also say the measure could conflict with a federal law that bans the sale or transfer of human organs for "valuable consideration."

专家还表示，这项措施可能会与一项联邦法律相冲突，那项联邦法律禁止以“有价值的代价”出售或移植人体器官。

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

这项措施引发了人们的质疑，即监狱是否能够有效地照顾器官捐赠者的健康。

Critics call the idea dehumanizing.

批评人士称这一想法是不人道的。

They also argue that such a law could create pressure on prisoners to donate organs.

他们还认为，这样的法律可能会给囚犯带来捐赠器官的压力。

Supporters of the bill have suggested it could help feel a need for organ donors in Black and Hispanic communities.

该法案的支持者表示，该法案可能有助于人们感受到黑人和西班牙裔社区对器官捐赠者的需求。

Their reasoning is linked to over-jailing rates for those minorities in U.S. prisons.

他们的理由与美国监狱中这些少数族裔的过度监禁率有关。

Kevin Ring is the president of Families Against Mandatory⁵ Minimums, a Washington, D.C.-based criminal justice reform group.

凯文·林是“反对强制性最低量刑家庭”组织的主席，这是一个总部设在华盛顿特区的刑事司法改革组织。

He told The Associated Press that supporting organ donation and reducing some prison sentences is good.

他告诉美联社，支持器官捐赠和减轻一些刑罚是好事。

But he added, "Tying the two together is perverse⁶."

但他补充说，“将两者捆绑在一起是有悖常理的。”

The bill would create a Bone Marrow⁷ and Organ Donation Program within the Massachusetts state Department of Correction.

该法案将在马萨诸塞州惩教署内设立一个骨髓和器官捐赠计划。

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.

根据该计划，如果囚犯捐赠了骨髓或器官，他们就可以获得60天至一年的减刑。

Judith Garcia is a Massachusetts state lawmaker and one of the bill's sponsors.

朱迪思·加西亚是马萨诸塞州议员，也是该法案的发起人之一。

She told the Associated Press that the measure was created to deal with health inequalities.

她告诉美联社，这项措施是为了解决健康不平等问题而制定的。

She said such inequalities are linked to, in her words, "the vicious cycle of unjust incarceration⁸ and over-policing of Black and Brown communities."

她说，用她的话来说，这种不平等与“不公正监禁和过度监管黑人和棕色社区的恶性循环”有关。

Garcia said Black and Hispanic communities are at higher risk for health conditions that might require organ donation.

加西亚说，黑人和西班牙裔社区患上可能需要器官捐赠的疾病的风险更高。

In addition, discriminatory incarceration rates reduce the number of available donors that could serve minority communities, she said.

此外，歧视性的监禁率减少了可以为少数族裔社区服务的可用捐赠者的数量，她说。

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.

目前，对救命器官的需求很大：马萨诸塞州有超过4600人——美国有近10.6万人——正在等待器官移植。

About 28 percent of those in Massachusetts identify as Black, Hispanic or Latino, organ donation data shows.

器官捐赠数据显示，马萨诸塞州约28%的等待器官移植的人是黑人、西班牙裔（即拉丁裔）。

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

但批评人士表示，拟议中的法律试图以错误的方式处理这个问题。

George Annas directs the Center for Health Law, Ethics⁹ & Human Rights at Boston University's School of Public Health.

乔治·安纳斯是波士顿大学公共卫生学院卫生法、伦理和人权中心的主任。

He said offering reduced sentences in exchange for organs is not only unethical, but also violates federal law.

他说，用器官换取减刑不仅不道德，而且违反了联邦法律。

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

“你不能买器官。应该结束这场讨论，”安纳斯说。

Massachusetts state lawmaker Carlos Gonzalez is another co-sponsor of the bill.

马萨诸塞州议员卡洛斯·冈萨雷斯是该法案的另一位共同发起人。

He defended the proposal, noting that the donor³ program would be voluntary.

他为这项提议进行了辩护，指出捐赠计划将是自愿的。

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.

他还说，他愿意制定一项允许囚犯在没有减刑承诺的情况下捐赠器官和骨髓的政策。

Gonzalez noted¹⁰ that there is currently no law against prisoner organ donation in Massachusetts.

冈萨雷斯指出，马萨诸塞州目前没有禁止囚犯捐赠器官的法律。

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

冈萨雷斯说：“这不是交换。我们愿意制定一项没有激励措施的政策。”

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布莱恩·林恩为您播报。

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。