A Massachusetts state representative filed a bill that could reduce prison sentence lengths for inmates — and is receiving sharp backlash from progressives over her proposal.
First-term state Representative Judith Garcia (D-Chelsea) is facing criticism from progressives for filing a bill titled “An Act To Establish The Massachusetts Incarcerated Individual Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Program” (HD.3822).
Under the bill, inmates in Massachusetts prisons would receive a sentence reduction of between 60 to 365 days in exchange for an organ or bone marrow donation.
The bill would also establish a Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Program within the state Department of Correction and a Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Committee to administer the program. The committee would determine the eligibility standards of incarcerated people to participate in the programs and the amount of bone marrow/organ(s) a prison inmate needs to donate in order to have a certain amount of time reduced from the inmate’s sentence.
The bill’s purpose is to promote bone marrow and organ donations while reducing the length of prison sentences. However, it has also sparked outrage on social media from critics who say it is tantamount to medical coercion of a vulnerable population.
Garcia issued a tweet explaining the logic behind the bill. Here are the three bullet points she used to justify the bil:
There is currently no path to organ or bone marrow donation for incarcerated folks in MA — even for relatives.
Nearly 5,000 MA residents are currently waiting for organ transplants.
Biological relatives are significantly likelier to be compatible donors than strangers.
Although Garcia tried to make the case for her bill on Twitter, hundreds of people blasted her proposal — especially left-wingers.
In a Twitter thread that has now been viewed nearly 200,000 times, “Eli’s wearing KN95s (they/them)” torched the proposal as “disgusting abuse.”
“I am extremely concerned about HD3822, @GarciaJudithMA,” the user wrote. “The idea of harvesting incarcerated people’s organs or bone marrow for as little [as] 2 months good time is abhorrent. Please tell me what thought went into this disgusting abuse. Prisoners should be able to donate life-saving bone marrow and organs if they wish, but incentivizing it through good time is coercive. There are people willing to pay a kidney to get out of prison, but that is not a choice they should have facilitated by the government.”
Former state representative candidate and democratic socialist Jordan Meehan (D-Brighton) also blasted the proposal.
A Twitter user named Tisiphone responded to a Garcia tweet, calling the proposal “evil.”
“This is one of the most evil and horrifying things I have ever heard proffered as legislation,” Tisiphone tweeted. “You want people to sell body parts for a proximity to freedom.”
Chris Robarge, who identifies as a police abolitionist, tweeted: “Imagine proposing that incarcerated people trade literal parts of their body for time off their sentence, and thinking you’re the good guy,” he tweeted.
And a user named Grumpy Fish said that Garcia’s bill is a Nazi-like proposal.
“Harvesting the organs and tissues of the incarcerated is Nazi level unethical,” Grumpy Fish tweeted.
No action in the state legislature has been taken on this bill yet.
Garcia, who also serves as a Chelsea city councilor, is a first-term state representative who represents the 11th Suffolk District. It includes Chelsea and parts of Everett (Ward 2, Precincts 1 and 2A). She defeated her Republican opponent and city council colleague Todd Taylor, 72.5 percent to 27.5 percent.
Garcia could not be reached for comment on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.
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