Fetal Tissue Research: FAQ
Fetal Tissue Research: FAQ
Sept. 29, 2015 -- Although fetal tissue research has made headlines in recent months, the controversy about it is nothing new.
Used in scientific studies since the 1930s, the tissue comes from induced abortions and miscarriages that would otherwise be discarded, according to the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB). Fetal tissue research is legal in the United States. The Reagan administration in 1988 ordered an end to federal funding of this research. But in 1993, Congress passed the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act, which formalized President Bill Clinton’s lifting of the moratorium.
State and local governments can enact their own laws governing fetal tissue research. Indiana, Ohio, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota ban studies involving tissue from aborted fetuses, and several other states are considering restricting or banning it, says Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. Anti-abortion groups and lawmakers say that scientists have tools other than fetal tissue with which to answer important questions.
WebMD asked brain researchers Anita Bhattacharyya, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Jorge Busciglio, PhD, of the University of California-Irvine, about using fetal tissue in scientific research.
Q. How do scientists obtain fetal tissue?
A. According to federal law, a woman must give written consent to donate fetal tissue, and only after she has requested an abortion. Paying for anything beyond “reasonable” costs related to obtaining fetal tissue is illegal. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) coordinates a network of six fetal brain and tissue repositories across the country. The NIH brain bank supplies tissue to qualified researchers who apply for it.
Q. Why do scientists use it in research?
A. Fetal tissue is being used to develop and test vaccines and treatments for HIV/AIDS, the flu, dengue fever, and hepatitis B and C. Also, scientists are using this tissue to understand a variety of diseases and health conditions, including vision problems, Parkinson’s disease, and miscarriage.
Bhattacharyya does research into Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome, conditions that impact IQ. “For Down syndrome specifically, animals aren’t very good,” because their brains and chromosomes are so different from humans’, she says.
Fetal Tissue Research: FAQ
Sept. 29, 2015 -- Although fetal tissue research has made headlines in recent months, the controversy about it is nothing new.
Used in scientific studies since the 1930s, the tissue comes from induced abortions and miscarriages that would otherwise be discarded, according to the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB). Fetal tissue research is legal in the United States. The Reagan administration in 1988 ordered an end to federal funding of this research. But in 1993, Congress passed the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act, which formalized President Bill Clinton’s lifting of the moratorium.
State and local governments can enact their own laws governing fetal tissue research. Indiana, Ohio, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota ban studies involving tissue from aborted fetuses, and several other states are considering restricting or banning it, says Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. Anti-abortion groups and lawmakers say that scientists have tools other than fetal tissue with which to answer important questions.
WebMD asked brain researchers Anita Bhattacharyya, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Jorge Busciglio, PhD, of the University of California-Irvine, about using fetal tissue in scientific research.
Q. How do scientists obtain fetal tissue?
A. According to federal law, a woman must give written consent to donate fetal tissue, and only after she has requested an abortion. Paying for anything beyond “reasonable” costs related to obtaining fetal tissue is illegal. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) coordinates a network of six fetal brain and tissue repositories across the country. The NIH brain bank supplies tissue to qualified researchers who apply for it.
Q. Why do scientists use it in research?
A. Fetal tissue is being used to develop and test vaccines and treatments for HIV/AIDS, the flu, dengue fever, and hepatitis B and C. Also, scientists are using this tissue to understand a variety of diseases and health conditions, including vision problems, Parkinson’s disease, and miscarriage.
Bhattacharyya does research into Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome, conditions that impact IQ. “For Down syndrome specifically, animals aren’t very good,” because their brains and chromosomes are so different from humans’, she says.
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