Massachusetts proposal to coerce organ donation

A Massachusetts legislator is introducing a bill that would coerce prisoners to donate organs and bone marrow:


"Mass. Prisoners Could Choose Between Freedom And Their Organs"

Please, if you live or vote in Massachusetts, write to your state legislator to oppose this bill.

This is what I wrote to Rep. Honan, in case a script would be useful. (As usual, if you live in the same district, rewriting rather than sending the same exact message would probably be more effective.)

I am writing to urge you to oppose HD.3822. This proposed law would pressure incarcerated citizens to donate organs and bone marrow by offering a reduction in their sentences.

We are rightly horrified at news that China is forcing prisoners to donate organs. It would be equally wrong for Massachusetts to pressure them to do so.

Donating organs is never risk-free. Prisoners do not reliably have access to good medical care, and neither do people who were recently released from prison.

Also, this proposal may be a violation of federal law. It's illegal to pay for organ donations, or to offer donors any significant compensation. This would probably include a reduction in someone's time in prison.

(I got this from minoanmiss.)

SSDI application

I am very glad I kept calling the person whose name and number were on the letter about disability determination, which said "we have to hear from you by Feb. 4th," because when I got through she said my forms were already overdue. I said "I have a letter here dated Jan 25 that says you have to hear from me by the fourth," and then I explained about the forms having first gone to the wrong address. You'd think she'd be aware of what was being sent out with her name, or at least not have incorrect beliefs about it.

However, I told her that one set are going back this afternoon and that I may need a couple of days for the other; gave her my new psychiatrist's name and contact info; and found out where to send the forms back to, and also that yes I can attach additional pages with typed answers (I thought I could, but it didn't say).

Each questionnaire came with a large business reply envelope, the kind with an address window, and nothing telling me what should be showing in that window. The address the examiner gave me is on the top of the letter, in small print, so not something I could use in that window. I measured, wrote the address on a plain sheet of white paper, tried it in the envelope, and redid it half an inch up and a little to the right. Then I made multiple copies, for the other things we need to send them. I don't know if there was supposed to be a sheet of paper with that neatly printed, or if this is one more random way to unofficially disqualify applicants.

I finished the "work record" questionnaire this morning, and cattitude has taken it to the post office. I havealso drafted answers to most of the questions in the stress-inducing "tell us all about what you can no longer do" "function" questionnaire, but some bits are just "[come back to this"] or ["ask Adrian"]. And Cattitude has drafted his answers to the similar one they sent him, as a person I identified as able to talk about my disability.

[I had posted this and some other recent posts on this subject access-list-only, for no particular reason, and just unlocked them.]