Ethical Issues Concerning Fetal Tissue Research

Fetal tissue research is an important aspect of medical research. Fetal tissues can be obtained from many places, including hospitals, tissue banks, and abortion clinics. Conducting fetal tissue research allows us to further our education concerning diseases, vaccinations, and birth defects. Despite the importance of fetal tissue research, it raises many controversies regarding ethical issues. Many people believe that fetal tissue research should be illegal because it goes against their morals, but others see fetal tissue research as an opportunity for us to further our knowledge and education about many different medical concerns. The main ethical issue related to fetal tissue research is the concern of utilizing aborted fetuses for
the research. Abortion is a controversial topic, which in turn makes fetal tissue research controversial. Many people are opposed to abortion for several different reasons, including religion and murder. People who believe that life begins at conception oppose abortion because it is murder. Some of these aborted fetuses go on to be used in fetal tissue research, however, many people believe that they should not be used for research because they were murdered. Abortion also violates many religious beliefs, which means that these religious people believe that aborted fetuses should not be used for fetal tissue research. Despite the controversy of abortion, Roe v Wade ruled that abortion is legal in the United States, so it is up to the discretion of the mother to decide if their aborted fetus can be used for fetal tissue research. A lot of the fetal tissues used in research do come from aborted fetuses, which is the main reason why so many people do not believe that fetal tissue research should be legal. Although the fetuses are obtained from consensual abortions, could it come to a point where abortions are performed solely for fetal tissue research? Many fear that the use of fetal tissues from aborted fetuses will cause an increase in the number of abortions performed. If the researchers need more fetuses to conduct research, some people may be willing to abort their fetuses solely for the purpose of research. In addition, if fetal tissue transplantation becomes successful, many people may decide to get pregnant just to abort the fetus in order to save a family member who could benefit from a fetal tissue transplant. In some cases, instead of obtaining embryonic stem cells from aborted fetuses, researchers are able to use left-over embryonic stem cells from couples who are using in vitro fertilization. The same people who believe that abortions are murder typically believe that this is murder as well. Although these embryos are not being aborted from a woman’s uterus, many believe that the embryo is still a human being. They are technically correct since the blastocyst does contain a human genome and eventually would develop into an adult. This is why many believe that utilizing embryos is still just as unethical as using aborted fetuses (Meyer). People believe that Another reason that many people do not agree with fetal tissue research is cloning. Many people believe that if we continue fetal tissue research that we will eventually be able to clone people as well. Many religious people do not agree with cloning because it goes against their beliefs. They believe that fetal tissue research and the possibility of cloning goes against God by trying to improve human life on our own. They believe that our fate should be left up to God. Fetal tissue research is also very expensive, which makes it controversial as well. Everyone must pay taxes, and unfortunately, some of the tax money does go toward abortions, regardless of your beliefs. A lot of people are extremely against abortions and the research especially since they are paying for something that they do not agree with. People who are in disagreement with fetal tissue research believe that since they do not support abortion, that tax money should not be used to benefit women who want abortions and cannot afford to get one. Since fetal tissue research is fairly new to the scientific world, people are reluctant to approve of it. Many people are against the idea of killing unborn fetuses for the purpose of experimental research. Since much of the research is still experimental, and not all of the results from studies are conclusive, people are hesitant to advocate the research that may or may not give us answers to diseases or help us in any way. Some people believe that there are better alternatives to fetal tissue research that we should instead (NCBI). Some people see no reason to use fetal tissue as opposed to adult tissue for research. A lot of people who are opposed to fetal tissue research believe that adult tissue is just as viable for research, especially since adult tissues have been proven to be successful in some studies. Whether or not an embryo or fetus is considered a living being is a huge controversy, as well.
People tend to believe many different things regarding when life actually begins during gestation. A lot of people, however, believe that life begins at conception, therefore, many believe that the use of fetal tissues in research is unethical because it is disrespectful to that being. Unlike adult tissue research or organ donation where the person is able to create a will or become an organ donor before they pass away, fetuses do not get a choice because they are not even born yet. A lot of people believe that the fetus or embryonic cells need to be treated with the same respect that an elderly person would when they pass away. Some people choose to have their organs donated or to have their bodies donated to scientific research. However, many believe that since the fetus or embryonic cells cannot speak for themselves, they should not be a part of fetal tissue research. Just because the mother or parents approve of it, doesn’t mean that it is ethical to give up a living being to scientific research. They believe that it should be up to that actual person, and since they cannot decide for themselves, they should not be used in the research. Overall, there are many reasons in which people oppose fetal tissue research. The main controversies include abortion, tax money, religion, and cloning. Many people believe that the use of human cells in which that human had no choice
should not be allowed to be used for research. Others believe that there are alternatives to this type of research. Despite the controversy of opposing fetal tissue research, there are also many people who believe that fetal tissue research is ethical. Many people believe that fetal tissue research is an ethical way to advance our medical research. Fetal tissue research has been used to investigate birth defects, neurological degenerative diseases, and vaccinations. Fetal tissue researchers obtain fetal tissues from hospitals, tissue banks, and abortion clinics. Although there is much controversy concerning the topic of abortions, many people who are not opposed to abortions are also not opposed to fetal tissue research.
People who believe that fetal tissue research is a great opportunity to broaden our knowledge of the human species, feel that researchers should utilize the aborted fetuses for this scientific research. Women are going to abort their babies, as long as it is legal, regardless of anyone else’s opinion. People who are advocates of fetal tissue research believe that these fetuses ought to be used for the advancement of our scientific knowledge instead of being disposed of in another way. Even though many people disagree with abortion, the opposition is that we can utilize these aborted fetuses for us to further our education since they are going to be aborted regardless. Fetal tissue research can be used to help us to better understand birth defects. Researchers can use fetal tissues to compare them with the tissues of fetuses with a birth defect. This can allow us to research the differences between them, which may help us to understand how birth defects occur and how they develop. If we are able to discover how certain birth defects occur, we can possibly discover a way to prevent them from occurring or reverse them by finding a cure. By utilizing fetal tissues, we may be able to save many other babies from suffering from various birth
defects. Researchers have also been utilizing fetal tissues to study the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. They are able to study this by activating the genes that cause Alzheimer’s into fetal tissues. Perhaps by studying more into Alzheimer’s, we may be able to develop medication that can slow down the effects. We might also be able to discover why these certain genes cause Alzheimer’s, which means that we could potentially prevent it from happening if we are able to conduct enough research and gather enough evidence. Fetal tissue research has allowed us to develop vaccines, and it may be able to help us to discover other vaccinations in the future. The polio vaccine was discovered by using fetal tissue research (ASCB). Researchers used fetal kidney cells to discover this vaccine (ASCB). Perhaps, with further research, we could discover even more vaccines for diseases. Many people believe that we can benefit from fetal tissue research if it enables us to discover other vaccinations. In conclusion, fetal tissue research is an extremely controversial subject in which there are many viewpoints. People who are opposed to fetal tissue research argue that it advocates abortion, it takes tax money to support abortion, and it could potentially lead to cloning of humans. On the other side, people believe that fetal tissue research can advance our scientific knowledge, and can help us to discover new vaccinations, study diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and help us to better understand the causes and the effects of birth defects. In my opinion, fetal tissue research is a huge asset to educational research development. Who knows what could be discovered in the future from utilizing fetal tissues.