Abstract
Where organ transplant abuse occurs in a country not subject to the rule of law, what can be done globally to achieve justice? The paper will address that question, using China as a case study. There is substantial evidence that practitioners of the spiritually based set of exercises Falun Gong have been killed in China in the tens of thousands for their organs. Chinese officials assert that the prisoners killed for their organs are criminals sentenced to death, but do not release death penalty statistics. China does not have a legal system subject to the rule of law. The Chinese Communist Party has engaged in a campaign of repression and vilification of the practice of the exercises Falun Gong. There is no remedy in China for organ transplant abuse where Falun Gong are the victims. What can be done? A number of Parliamentarians around the world have proposed remedies for violations of organ transplant medical ethics abroad. Amongst these remedies are: a) extraterritorial legislation criminalizing organ transplant abuse abroad; b) compulsory reporting, requiring medical practitioners to report on transplant tourism; c) civil lawsuits abroad for damages by those who have escaped the abuse and the country of abuse, and d) immigration bars, denying entry to those complicit in organ transplant abuse. Can international justice be effective in the realm of organ transplant abuse when there is no local justice? The paper will constitute an update to the work in progress which is attempting to answer that question.
Author Information
David Matas, University of Manitoba, Canada
Paper Information
Conference: ECERP2016
Stream: Ethics - Medical Ethics
This paper is part of the ECERP2016 Conference Proceedings (View)
Full Paper
View / Download the full paper in a new tab/window
Comments
Powered by WP LinkPress