The Use Of Fetal Tissue In Res — страница 3

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women to volunteer to get pregnant and then abort the fetus in an effort to save a loved one’s life. Thirdly, fetal tissue transplants would increases the number of abortions by woman wanting to abort their child and donate the tissue and cells to help someone who is unrelated (Childress 1862). The opposing group holds many strong points that clearly hold true to their belief that fetal tissue transplants do not encourage abortion. Their first point found in The Ethics of Organ Transplants states that the tissue used for fetal tissue transplants comes from the one and a half million abortions performed annually in the United States to end unwanted pregnancies, and as of now there is no need to have family members conceive and abort to produce fetal tissue. Robertson also points

out that fetal tissue obtained for transplant purposes holds great hope for all in need (54-61). In Biomedical Ethics, The American Jewish Congress Bio-ethics Task Force 143-50, clarify their point by saying, “It’s highly unlikely, even far fetched that a woman would choose abortion because she knows the fetal remains will be used in a transplant.” The American Jewish Congress Bio-ethics Task Force claims that woman choose to abort for personal reasons and not at any point do they say they want to have an abortion just to donate fetal tissue to help someone in need. James Benedict suggests that fetal tissue transplants are nothing more than an extension of organ donation, something that has been going on for years. The only difference is that instead of receiving a whole

organ (liver or kidney) the patient receives fetal tissue or cells to replace defective or missing tissue and cells, and for reasons unknown these fetal cells develop quickly and function normally (164). An article in The Christian Century lists the guidelines set by the National Institute of Health regarding the use of fetal tissue for therapy and experimentation obtained from legal abortions. The following guidelines are as follows: 1. The donor and recipient will remain anonymous (this prevents fetal tissue being given to help a loved one) 2. The acceptance of payment is absolutely forbidden to the female who makes the tissue available (this eliminates the incentive to want to have an abortion to earn money) 3. A signed consent form to abort must be given before the option to

donate fetal cells/tissue is brought up (this ensures that the decision to abort and the decision to donate fetal tissue is kept separate) 4. Even more likely to decrease the chance that people will not donate for money or to help others, there is NO guarantee that the fetal tissue will be used (Bendict 164). Finally the last argument by those who feel that fetal tissue transplants will not encourage abortion is that “People in favor of using fetal tissue agree elective abortions are troubling, and could be considered a “sin” or “murder.” However, they do argue that this does not preclude the possibility of using the tissue, since organs and tissues for transplants typically come from tragic events, including murder. They claim that agreeing to the use of fetal tissue

does not imply approval of past abortions or encouragement of future abortions, anymore than the transplant of a heart or kidney implies approval of- or encourages- drunk driving, domestic violence, or drive-by shootings” (Benedict 164). Apart from all the ethical and moral controversies regarding fetal tissue transplants and research there have been legal controversies going on for years. Up until the Regan and Bush administrations, using fetal tissue for transplants just followed the pattern for the use and transfer of other transplantable tissues from cadavers. However, the Regan and Bush administrations banned the use of federal funding in the area of fetal tissue transplant research following deliberate abortions. Although, this ban did not apply to the use of federal

funding for other aborted fetal research such as the development of vaccines, the discovery of new diseases, and the testing of new drugs (Childress 1862). In a fight to try and lift the ban the Human Fetal Tissue Transplant Research Panel (HFTTRP) made a recommendation in 1988 to lift the ban of fetal tissue transplant research if there were safeguards and guidelines to separate the decision to abort and the decision to abort and donate as much as possible. The HFTTRP was unsuccessful, they were denied and the ban stayed in effect until 1993 when the Clinton administration lifted it. The removal of the ban was an exception to an international consensus that it was permissible within certain limits to use fetal tissue in transplant research (Childress1862). Because of all the