Regulations created as sop to anti-abortion activists

Out-of-date regulations prevent British scientists from using tissue
from the 200,000 foetuses which are aborted each year in England and
Wales, complains Professor Naomi Pfeffer, of
London Metropolitan University. She claims that women are perfectly
capable of giving informed consent to the use of aborted tissue and
that doctors will act ethically in requesting the tissue.

It is possible to use tissue from aborted foetuses, but the paperwork involved is tedious and costly. The
Royal College of Obstetricians objects to the current rule that
researchers must have no direct contact with women who undergo an
elected pregnancy termination. According to Professor Pfeffer,  the
so-called separation principle was put in place as a sop to
"anti-abortion activists" who pointed out that women might be pressured
to proceed with an abortion. However, ProfessorPfeffer suggests that this is patronising for women and demeaning for doctors. She is calling for revision, or abolition, of the 1989 Polkinghorne Guidelines which currently govern research using aborted foetuses. ~ BioNews, Apr 20

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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