systemd upstream says "distros can patch it out if they want", the debian package maintainer doesn't want to carry a patch. "Someone needs to write a patch" is not the problem here.
Has anyone pushed on this issue? If a patch exists and upstream explicitly says it belongs in the distro, then I expect an explanation from the maintainer(s) would need to be presented to detail exactly why it’s either unsuitable/unmaintainable or left better as-is.