Mass. Dem walks back reduced sentencing bill for organ donation

A Massachusetts legislator who proposed reduced sentences for inmates if they became organ and blood marrow donors is now walking back the bill following outrage. 

The legislation, helmed by Democratic State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, would have seen prisoners lose between 60 days to a year off their sentences if they donate organs or bone marrow. 

The bill sparked major ethical concerns for the more than 6,000 people incarcerated in the Bay State, leading Gonzalez to remove the incentive portion of the bill. 

He told ABC News that the bill was never intended as a quid pro quo for inmates, instead saying it was meant to make it easier for them to donate organs to family members.    

“It is crucial to respect prisoners’ human dignity and agency by respecting their choice to donate bone marrow or an organ,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “Inmates should have the same basic rights every citizen has in Massachusetts.”

In its original form, the bill called on the state to form a five-member “Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Committee,” with a single seat reserved for a prisoners’ rights advocate. 

The other members would include representatives from the State Department of Corrections, a donation specialist and a member of an organization advocating for bone marrow and organ donations.  

Alexandra Glazier, the president and CEO of New England Donor Services, told ABC that she was shocked that an incentive was included in the bill. 

“There is substantial concern that our system is free of coercion or personal gain,” she said. “That public trust in the system has to be based on people making a free and fair choice.” 

Elizabeth Matos, the director of Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts, also criticized the state for allowing language that could effectively be read as prisoners trading their organs for reduced sentencing. 

“It’s not recognizing the power dynamics and how desperate people are to be reunited with their loved ones,” she said in a statement. 

Matos added that her group is working with Gonzalez to improve the bill and address the health needs of the incarcerated. 

Glazier also said she was open to working with the legislator to improve the bill, noting that inmates often face a difficult time when making anatomical gifts. 

She said that inmates have to first get permission from their prison and the Department of Corrections to get time off to go to a hospital, undergo screening and get the surgery for the donation done.

Representative Carlos Gonzalez/Facebook

Getty Images

Advertisement

Massachussets Legislature

Advertisement

“We support removing any barriers with common sense proposals,” she added. 

Along with Gonzalez, the original bill was co-sponsored by fellow Democratic Reps. Judith Garcia, Shirley Arriaga, Bud Williams and Russell Holmes.  

Gonzalez previously told WHYN that he pushed for the bill to widen the pool of donors available in the state to save lives, adding that it came after he visited a friend in the hospital who suffers from a failing kidney. 

“I’ve put more effort into this bill after visiting a friend, who I consider a brother, in the hospital who is required to have dialysis three to four times a week while he awaits a kidney transplant,’ he said.

“He’s a father of three children, and he’s in his stage 4 of kidney failure. Unless he can obtain a kidney at 40 years old, life expectancy is about 10.4 years for men and 9.1 years for women. I love my friend and I’m praying through this legislation we can extend the chances of life,” he added.

For her part, Garcia said on Twitter that there is no path for prisoners to donate organs or bone marrow even for family members, saying the bill would “restore bodily autonomy to incarcerated folks.”