A bill designed to address forced organ harvesting by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which targets cultural and religious minorities including Christians, has been stalled in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for seven months. The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025 (H.R. 1503), sponsored by Republican New Jersey Rep. Christopher Smith, passed the House with a strong majority but has not advanced further.
Smith has a long history of addressing this issue, having chaired his first hearing on forced organ harvesting in 1998. According to Smith, after the CCP’s crackdown on Falun Gong in 1999, organ harvesting became a large-scale state operation. Falun Gong practitioners were among the first targets due to their healthy lifestyles.
Testimonies and investigations have reported that prisoners of conscience, including Falun Gong practitioners and other minority groups, are subjected to medical examinations and blood testing without consent as part of preparations for organ harvesting. A 2024 report from Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) found irregularities in China’s reported transplant numbers and noted significant increases between 2000 and 2004 compared to steady growth elsewhere.
Researcher Ethan Gutmann estimated that between 25,000 and 50,000 people may fall victim annually to forced organ harvesting in China. Officials who testified at Smith’s hearings stated they personally participated in removing organs from living patients.
Smith said: “They have perfected this art form of killing and stealing organs.”
The scope of victims appears to be expanding beyond Falun Gong practitioners as those populations decline; Uyghur Muslims, Kazakhs, other Central Asians, and Christians are increasingly targeted. Smith explained that Christians’ health makes them valuable for these operations but warned that as other groups are depleted they could become primary targets.
Smith commented: “The end goal is eradication,” referring to Beijing’s restrictions on religious practices such as licensing clergy, censoring scriptures, barring minors from participation in religious life, and limiting contact with believers abroad.
The legislation also aims at curbing global involvement in illegal transplants—including so-called “transplant tourism” where individuals travel abroad for organs—by imposing penalties similar to those used against human traffickers under U.S. law. Penalties would include up to 20 years imprisonment or $1 million fines for Americans involved.
“Maybe it deters it, and after a few prosecutions, it begins to make a real serious impact,” Smith said. “You start prosecuting people, and at least it will dry up people utilizing this tainted supply chain.”
The bill passed the House with only one dissenting vote but remains stuck in committee under Chairman Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho. A spokesperson stated: “I appreciate Rep. Smith’s attention to this horrific issue… However, this particular piece of legislation has not been raised with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.”
If current estimates hold true since previous bills stalled in committee thousands more could have fallen victim while Congress delays action.
Chris Smith is currently serving in the U.S. Congress representing New Jersey’s 4th district since replacing Frank Thompson in 1981 (https://www.house.gov/representatives). He was born in Rahway, New Jersey in 1953 and lives in Manchester Township; he graduated from The College of New Jersey with a BS degree.
