Studying Aborted Embryonic Tissue

[Deeds]

So, it's a given that any research involving manipulation of the cells of the human embryo is morally wrong. Is the same true for any research that makes use of aborted embryonic tissue? I came across a project that studies human tissue from a collection that is voluntarily donated by women who have undergone abortions. The aim is to discover more about the development of the human embryonic brain.

At first I'd be inclined to think without question that any research like this must be immoral, since it's an aftermath of abortion and we cannot justify evil so that good may come of it, etc. However, this does seem to be different from stem cell research, in that the focus is on understanding the developing embryo rather than exploiting it for our own benefit, and the tissue studied is dead rather than alive.

In addition, I can see parallels with the use of pictures of aborted foetuses by pro-life organisations. They make use of the tissue from abortions in order to expose the reality of foetal development. While a scientific study of the development of the embryonic brain is not so directly ordered against abortion, it is hopeful that the more we understand about the developing embryo, the closer we can get to protecting it.

Does anyone know what the official position is on this issue?

[Sternhauser]

[quote name='Deeds' date='22 June 2010 - 05:04 PM' timestamp='1277244288' post='2132964']
So, it's a given that any research involving manipulation of the cells of the human embryo is morally wrong. Is the same true for any research that makes use of aborted embryonic tissue? I came across a project that studies human tissue from a collection that is voluntarily donated by women who have undergone abortions. The aim is to discover more about the development of the human embryonic brain.

At first I'd be inclined to think without question that any research like this must be immoral, since it's an aftermath of abortion and we cannot justify evil so that good may come of it, etc. However, this does seem to be different from stem cell research, in that the focus is on understanding the developing embryo rather than exploiting it for our own benefit, and the tissue studied is dead rather than alive.

In addition, I can see parallels with the use of pictures of aborted foetuses by pro-life organisations. They make use of the tissue from abortions in order to expose the reality of foetal development. While a scientific study of the development of the embryonic brain is not so directly ordered against abortion, it is hopeful that the more we understand about the developing embryo, the closer we can get to protecting it.

Does anyone know what the official position is on this issue?
[/quote]

We may not [i]do[/i] evil that good may come from it. Is bringing good out of an already-committed evil somehow "justifying" that evil?

Can we study the bodies of murder victims, since it's the aftermath of murder, and can't justify evil that good may come of it?

The reason we have collars on offshore life vests is because German scientists found that Jews who had their heads above freezing water survived longer than those who didn't. That doesn't mean we have to cut off the collars from life vests, does it?

One may not do evil that good may come of it. In such cases, the evil has already been done.

~Sternhauser

Edited June 23, 2010 by Sternhauser