AMA Fights Unconstitutional Connecticut “Looney” Bill Threatening Motorcyclists’ Rights

S.B. 96 pushes non-consensual organ donation for
motorcycle crash victims not wearing a helmet

PICKERINGTON, OH – January 31, 2023 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) recently expressed outrage and began the fight against Connecticut’s proposed legislation, S.B. 96, which would presuppose that any street-riding motorcyclist killed would automatically become an organ donor if they were not wearing a helmet, something that’s currently legal under Connecticut state law for riders over the age of 18.

“The bill shows callous disregard for the motorcycling public,” said AMA Government Relations Director Mike Sayre. “Organ donation is a noble cause that regularly saves lives around the country, but the decision to become a donor is a deeply personal one — one that this legislation would take away from motorcyclists.”

“Not only is this bill insulting to motorcyclists,” Sayre added, “but it also violates the religious liberty of those whose faith prohibits posthumous organ donation, and is clearly an unconstitutional violation of bodily autonomy for any American.”

Within the text of the bill, the statement of purpose reads, simply, “to improve public health.” The AMA counters that if public health is really a concern, preventing motorcycle crashes in the first place must be the priority. This bill makes motorcyclist safety a secondary concern, reducing motorcyclists to little more than a collection of organs to be harvested upon their death.

When the AMA Government Relations Department contacted Senator Looney’s office, his staff responded that the bill was proposed to help fix declining organ donation rates in Connecticut and dissuade motorcyclists from riding without a helmet. The staffer stated that their position was that if motorcyclists put their lives at risk by riding helmetless, they assume those riders don’t care where their organs end up.

While the Senator’s office cites declining organ donation in the state, New England Donor Services, the parent organization of the New England Organ Bank — which is the federally designated Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) responsible for coordinating organ and tissue donation in the New England Area — expressed to the AMA its opposition to any legislation that presumes consent for organ donation.

According to New England Donor Services, the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) is the model statute that governs deceased organ and…