By Sarah Toy
The Trump administration substantially cut federal funding for human fetal-tissue research this week, a move that anti-abortion activists applauded but many scientists found worrying.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that government scientists at the National Institutes of Health would no longer be allowed to conduct research using human fetal tissue. Ongoing external fetal-tissue projects receiving NIH funding would be allowed to continue, the agency said, but new applications or grant renewals from universities and research institutions would now be subject to an ethics advisory board review.
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Human fetal tissue, which is obtained through elective abortions, has been used in research for decades, including in the development of certain vaccines. But it has also been the subject of considerable controversy.
Here, MarketWatch breaks down what human fetal tissue is, why scientists use it, the controversy surrounding its use and what the Trump administration’s new limits will mean for medical research.
Why do scientists use human fetal tissue for research?
“Fetal tissue is unique,” Ross McKinney, the chief scientific officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges, told MarketWatch.
Fetal stem cells can proliferate to generate huge numbers of cells — important for research — and can act as a guide for scientists on how cell differentiation works. The cells are undifferentiated; they haven’t yet developed into cells that are specific to certain tissues and organs. By studying fetal tissue, researchers can gain an understanding on what needs to happen in order for a fetal cell to become a specific cell type. That’s important to scientists working on ways to restore certain tissues to patients who may have lost them to disease.
Scientists use fetal tissue in many types of research. Some study the tissue to gain a better understanding of the human fetus itself. Others use it to build animal models to evaluate the effects of certain drugs and disease processes.
What are the current rules for obtaining human fetal tissue?
The American Medical Association has a code of ethics that outlines how human fetal tissue can be obtained.
First off, there should be no discussion about the use of fetal tissue for research until after a woman has decided to terminate her pregnancy. Secondly, money should never be offered in exchange for fetal tissue. The woman must give her informed consent for the fetal tissue to be used for research purposes, and systems should be in place so that health personnel involved in the termination of the pregnancy do not benefit from the termination itself or from the use of the fetal tissue.
”Basically, fetal tissue should be treated in much the same way that organ donation after death is treated,” said McKinney of the AAMC.
Why is the use of human fetal tissue controversial?
The issues surrounding the use of human fetal tissue boil down to differing views on whether a fetus is considered a human being.