The more serious flaw in the presentation was its lack of consideration of ethical issues. The moratorium referred to in the article was on research with tissue from induced abortions, not on all research in this field. There are legitimate concerns that clinical use of fetal tissue for transplants will in many cases require scheduled (not elective) abortions. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a brain surgery team waiting for an abortion to just happen so that the tissue is available for their use. The scheduling problem will lead to women being recruited and paid to have abortions. What controls could prevent this, considering the frequency with which existing regulations, such as on late- term abortions, are violated?
A related concern is that some proposed transplantation procedures would require tissue from babies late in pregnancy, often in the range at which they could live if born. Should young lives be ...
