GOP Rep. Cline introduces bill to bar organ transplant centers from denying service to the unvaccinated

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Father denied spot on transplant list over not receiving COVID-19 vaccine

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EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., will introduce legislation Tuesday that aims to prevent organ transplant centers from denying unvaccinated Americans the right to receive or donate an organ.

Cline is being joined by GOP Reps. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., Bob Good, R-Va., Rob Wittman, R-Va., Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., and Rodney Davis, R-Ill., in introducing the Stop Arduous Vaccine Enforcement (SAVE) Act.

Representative Ben Cline, a Republican from Virginia, speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, June 10, 2020. (Greg Nash/The Hill/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The bill, according to Cline's office, follows "several reports" from across America in which individuals are "being removed from the organ transplant list or moved to ‘inactive’ status as a result of being unvaccinated."

In a statement shared with Fox News, Cline said it is "unimaginable" that people are being refused organ transplants over their "personal choice to get vaccinated."

Lurie Children's hospital registered nurse Carolyn Ruyle prepares a dose of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Lurie Children's hospital Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

"It is unimaginable that organ transplant centers would deny American citizens life-saving medical procedures solely for being unvaccinated against COVID-19," Cline said. "The SAVE Act ensures that no one is denied an organ transplant or donation based on their vaccination status. Getting vaccinated is a personal choice and should not be mandated."

Cline's office also noted that the legislation is supported by FreedomWorks, Citizens for Renewing America and the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.

In a statement shared with Fox News, Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, said the legislation reveals that Americans are not receiving the "medical care they need or desire" due to their vaccination status.

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"The need for the SAVE Act shows that in the U.S. patients have no right to the medical care they need or desire but only a privilege to receive what the authorities will allow," Orient said.

Several reports, stretching from Massachusetts to Virginia and North Carolina, indicate that Americans are being denied opportunities to receive organ transplants because they are not vaccinated. In Boston, a man was removed from the heart transplant list because he was not vaccinated.