Fetal Tissue Research and Bioethics of Fertility Treatment

Introduction to Fetal Tissue Research and Bioethics

Fetal tissue research and transplantation in the scientific community has attracted enormous debate and controversy since the late 1980s, when doctors began to conclude that the bodies of unborn babies could potentially be used to address certain diseases. This area of research continued to develop as scientists proposed that fetal tissue could also be used to help infertile couples conceive children. This is largely because these tissues can be used to develop means of contraception and, ultimately, for bone marrow transplants. In fact, fetal tissue is currently used in bone marrow transplants for adult donors. However, many medical ethicists and doctors argue that such scientific procedures cannot be as effective as proponents claim. In recent years, there have been various calls for the use of eggs from aborted fetuses to assist infertile couples in having children.

As noted above, calls have emerged to use eggs from aborted fetuses for fertility treatment in order to help infertile couples have babies. This procedure could eventually be developed to grow eggs for fertility treatment and assist childless couples ("Warnock Backs New Fertility Treatment" par. 5). According to reports from a recent conference, the technique had proven successful in growing egg-producing follicles taken from aborted human fetuses.

Using Fetal Eggs to Address Egg Shortages

Fertility treatment through the use of eggs from aborted fetuses has attracted intense ethical debate despite evidence of its potential to produce a human baby within three years. The procedure involves retrieving eggs from aborted female fetuses, fertilizing them, and implanting them in infertile women. Given the increasing worldwide shortage of human eggs for fertility treatments, proponents argue that this technique could provide a necessary additional resource. There is a worldwide shortage of human eggs for fertility treatment, since women are born with a finite number of eggs that diminish over time ("Aborted Fetuses" par. 2). The current demand for donated eggs exceeds supply because of this continual reduction. For older women who wish to have children, donation from a younger woman may represent their only realistic hope. One key argument in favor of this technique is that it serves as an extra source of eggs to address the global shortage — a resource that could prove especially helpful to the growing number of women who have reached menopause.

One of the major objections raised by opponents of this technique is the concern that it might increase demand for abortions and raise the total number of abortions performed (Bunnell par. 3). However, proponents argue that the technique should be considered for fertility treatment because it may bring some beneficial use to abortions that are, in any case, going to occur. While abortion is regarded as a tragedy because it involves the termination of life, using aborted fetuses to assist infertile couples would extract some benefit from such tragedies.

Beneficial Use of Aborted Fetuses

Many doctors and proponents argue that it is preferable to make constructive use of aborted tissues for a valuable purpose rather than discarding them. Using the eggs of aborted fetuses to help childless women in fertility treatment is one of the primary ways in which aborted tissues could serve a positive purpose and avoid waste. Although the procedure complicates discussions about abortion, it represents an effort to use such events constructively.

Another reason why this procedure is advocated for fertility treatments is the possibility of rapid success, as suggested by its proponents. This optimism is grounded in the success that fetal tissue transplantation has demonstrated in treating patients with Parkinson's disease and diabetes. Scientific researchers have reported that fetal tissue transplant has shown considerable promise in both of these conditions. Proponents therefore argue that applying a similar approach to fertility treatment could yield significant benefits for women who are desperate to have children, given the likely success based on these precedents.

Conclusion

The use of eggs from aborted fetuses to help infertile couples have babies is an area of scientific research that could hold several benefits for many women. However, this procedure raises serious ethical concerns, particularly regarding the potential to increase the number of abortions performed. The broader debate reflects the inherent difficulty of applying ethical principles to rapidly advancing biotechnologies, where no universally accepted moral framework yet exists to guide decision-making.