Bibliography peer review

Bailey Istre

Dr. Butkus

PHIL 251-– 24S 26162

1/23/24

Topic: Is fetal tissue research justifiable?

References

1. Alghirani, Amel, and Margaret Brazier. (2011). “What Is It? Whose It? Re-Positioning the Fetus in the Context of Research?” Cambridge Law Journal, vol. 70, no. 1, pp. 51–82. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008197311000171.

Abstract: The article discusses the legal and ethical laws concerning the legitimacy of research involving living fetuses and just born infants or neonates in Great Britain. It examines how should the research on octogenesis or artificial womb technology could be regulated in the country. It focuses on discussing the question on what the fetus is and whose is it, as well as in several kinds of research like research into fetal development and disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2. Bass, S. B. (2001). Why Can’t a Fetus Be More Like a Sperm? The Woman’s Role in Fetal Tissue Research and How Women are Left Out of the Discussion. Gender Issues, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-001-0002-0

Abstract: The use of fetal tissue for scientific research is a good example of the ways that cultural definitions have enveloped and galvanized the link between culture, science, and politics. Since the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973, use of fetal tissue has been connected to arguably one of the hottest political firestorms of the century...abortion. While the abortion issue, as well as the use of fetal tissue for research, has been debated and discussed in almost every major field of thought, the debate consistently fails to address some of the key cultural interpretations we give to issues such as gender, science, and the role of women, who have largely been forgotten, and how these interpretations influence the national debate. To gain understanding of how these issues affect the fetal tissue dialogue, one must explore the role these cultural interpretations have in the discussion on the use of fetal tissue for research by looking at the cultural meanings we give to the terms "mother" and "fetus" and how these scientific metaphors affect the way we think about women who donate fetal tissue. These concepts must then be applied to fetal tissue use by exploring both political and ethical arguments surrounding the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3. Burchell, M. S. (2004). America’s Struggle to Develop a Consistent Legal Approach to Controversial Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Therapeutic Cloning: Are the Politics Getting in the Way of Hope? Syracuse Journal of International Law & Commerce, 32(1), 133–161. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lgs&AN=502556872&site=eds-live

Abstract: Discusses the struggle of the U.S. in developing a consistent legal approach to human embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. Factors that led people across the U.S. to discuss the scientific and ethical aspects of human embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning; Difference between the stance of the British government and the U.S. government on human embryonic stem cell research; Advantage of human embryonic stem cells over adult stem cells.

4. Childress, J. F. (2009). Ethics, Public Policy, and Human Fetal Tissue Transplantation Research.  Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal,  1(2), 93–121. https://doi.org/10.1353/ken.0.0073

Abstract: This article focuses on the deliberations of the National Institutes of Health Human Fetal Tissue Transplantation Research Panel in 1988. It explores various arguments for and against the use of fetal tissue for transplantation research, following elective abortion, and for and against the use of federal funds for such research. After examining the relevance of various positions on the moral status of the fetus and the morality of abortion, the article critically examines charges that such research, especially with federal funds, would involve complicity in the moral evil of abortion, would legitimate abortion practices, and would provide incentives for abortions. Finally, it considers whether the donation model is appropriate for the transfer of human fetal tissue and whether the woman who chooses to have an abortion is the appropriate donor of the tissue.

5. Ethical Research Involving Fetal Human Subjects: American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2023).  Issues in Law & Medicine,  38(2), 182–194.. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=174192317&site=eds-live.

Abstract: Fetal tissue research refers to research using several types of tissue, including but not limited to samples obtained from aborted fetuses, cell lines derived from aborted fetuses, and in rarer cases, living previable neonates who have survived an abortion attempt. The ethical questions surrounding each type of tissue procurement are not identical, but do share similarities. This guideline on fetal tissue research discusses the moral status of the human fetus, the state of ethics for medical research on vulnerable subjects, aspects of medical research using human fetal tissue, and the necessity of including fetuses as a protected class under vulnerable populations in research. The debates connected to embryo stem cell research and other research related to embryos are beyond the scope of this document. [ABSRACT FROM AUTHOR]

6. Fazio, T. J. (2001). A woman’s right to choose: designation of fetal tissue donees. Hofstra Law Review, 30(2), 533–555. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lgs&AN=502401429&site=eds-live.

Abstract: Women have the constitutional right to abort a pregnancy.' Although women may elect to terminate their pregnancy, an abortion may also occur due to an ectopic pregnancy or a spontaneous abortion. What remains after any aborted pregnancy are the tissue and cells expelled from the woman's body. The question then arises as to whether these materials constitute a deceased fetus or merely a mass of unused cells, akin to those that fall to the floor of a barber shop. Regardless, a product remains that must be dealt with. This Note addresses the resulting implications of what a woman might do with these remaining fetal tissues. It also argues that when an elective abortion occurs, regardless of the reasons for the abortive act, the aborting woman should be allowed to designate to whom these remains are to be donated. To deny a woman the right to designate the recipient of her donation would unconstitutionally infringe upon a woman's fundamental right to make an abortion decision without being unduly burdened.

7. Gimbel, V. N. (2017). Fetal Tissue Research & Abortion: Conscription, Commodification, and the Future of Choice. Harvard Journal of Law & Gender, 40(1), 229–299. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lgs&AN=123978400&site=eds-live.

Abstract: The use of fetal tissue in medical research has emerged from obscurity to the center of the abortion debate. So far, the political positions taken on either side of the fetal tissue research debate have mirrored those of the prochoice/pro-life camps, with self-described feminists largely coming out in support of the use of aborted fetuses in medical research. This Article reopens the question of whether fetal tissue research is actually good for women. Surely the right to abortion, and women who exercise it, are necessary for the continuation of fetal tissue research. But is the benefit mutual? Do the practitioners and beneficiaries of fetal tissue research give anything back to the women who supply their raw materials and support those women's right to access safe abortion services? Or is the relationship between fetal tissue research and abortion somehow exploitive of women's reproduction? While aborting women are barred from receiving any form of remuneration for fetal tissue donations, that does not apply to the upstream medical companies that process the tissue into usable clinical and pharmaceutical products. In this Article, I will discuss data on the demographic characteristics of women who have abortions and on the industrial process by which the aborted fetus becomes a commodity. Ultimately, I conclude that cutting women out of the industrial proceeds of fetal tissue research constitutes exploitation of their sexual and reproductive capacities--and disproportionately so for poor women and women of color. To make meaning of this conclusion, I argue that the policy discussion around the relationship between fetal tissue research and abortion should be re-framed in terms of reproductive justice. I will examine feminist and critical race jurisprudential and bioethical theories to develop a critique of the fetal tissue economy, and imagine what policy interventions, if any, might mobilize that economy towards reproductive justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

8. Jianqing Liang, Xinyang Li, Yateng Dong, & Bing Zhao. (2022). Modeling Human Organ Development and Diseases With Fetal Tissue–Derived Organoids. Cell Transplantation, 31. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636897221124481.

Abstract: Recent advances in human organoid technology have greatly facilitated the study of organ development and pathology. In most cases, these organoids are derived from either pluripotent stem cells or adult stem cells for the modeling of developmental events and tissue homeostasis. However, due to the lack of human fetal tissue references and research model, it is still challenging to capture early developmental changes and underlying mechanisms in human embryonic development. The establishment of fetal tissue–derived organoids in rigorous time points is necessary. Here we provide an overview of the strategies and applications of fetal tissue–derived organoids, mainly focusing on fetal organ development research, developmental defect disease modeling, and organ–organ interaction study. Discussion of the importance of fetal tissue research also highlights the prospects and challenges in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

9. Leila Afshar, Hamid-Reza Aghayan, Jila Sadighi, Babak Arjmand, Seyed-Mahmoud Hashemi, Mohsen Basiri, Reza Omani Samani, Mohammad Kazemi Ashtiani, Seyed-Ali Azin, Ensiyeh Hajizadeh-Saffar, Ehsan Shamsi Gooshki, Amir-Ali Hamidieh, Mohammad-Reza Rezania Moallem, Seyed-Mohammad Azin, Sadegh Shariatinasab, Mehdi Soleymani-Goloujeh, & Hossein Baharvand. (2020). Ethics of research on stem cells and regenerative medicine: ethical guidelines in the Islamic Republic of Iran.  Stem Cell Research & Therapy,  11(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-020-01916-z

Abstract: Background Regenerative medicine plays a major role in biomedicine, and given the ever-expanding boundaries of this knowledge, numerous ethical considerations have been raised. Main text Rapid advancement of regenerative medicine science and technology in Iran, emerged the Iranian National Committee for Ethics in Biomedical Research to develop a comprehensive national ethical guideline. Therefore, the present ethical guideline which comprises eleven chapters was developed in 2019 and approved in early 2020. The titles of these chapters were selected based on the ethical considerations of various aspects of the field of regenerative medicine: (1) ethical principles of research on stem cells and regenerative medicine; (2) ethical considerations for research on stem cells (embryonic stem cells, epiblast stem cells, tissue-specific stem cells, stem cells derived from transdifferentiation, induced pluripotent stem cells [iPSCs], germline pluripotent stem cells, germline stem cells, and somatic cell nuclear transfer [SCNT] stem cells); (3) ethical considerations for research on somatic cells in regenerative medicine (adult somatic cells, fetal tissue somatic cells, and somatic cells derived from pregnancy products [other than fetus]); (4) ethical considerations for research on gametes in regenerative medicine; (5) ethical considerations for research related to genetic manipulation (human and animal) in regenerative medicine; (6) ethical considerations for research on tissue engineering in regenerative medicine; (7) ethical considerations for pre-clinical studies in regenerative medicine; (8) ethical considerations for clinical trials in regenerative medicine; (9) ethical considerations for stem cells and regenerative medicine bio-banks; (10) ethical considerations for privacy and confidentiality; and (11) ethical considerations for obtaining informed consent. Conclusion This article discusses the process of developing the present ethical guidelines and its practical points. We hope that it can play an important worldwide role in advancing ethics of research on stem cells and regenerative medicine.

10. Woods, S., & Taylor, K. (2008). Ethical and governance challenges in human fetal tissue research.  Clinical Ethics,  3(1), 14–19. https://doi.org/10.1258/ce.2007.007054

Abstract: Genetics holds the key to understanding normal human biology and possibly many of the major causes of human disease and impairment. Research into human developmental genetics seems, therefore, to be both necessary and justified. However, such research requires the use of embryonic and fetal tissue obtained from spontaneous abortions and elective termination of pregnancy. This paper examines the arguments in favour of using tissue from elective terminations and the evolution of regulatory frameworks for this research. The paper argues that the recent statutory and regulatory reforms in the UK have not properly addressed the issue of ethically obtaining postimplantation human embryos for research. It is argued that the recent reforms have left the Polkinghorne guidelines untouched but that these are now unequal to the task. A practical suggestion for reform of the approach to the informing and consent of potential donors is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]