Should laws allow the medical use of fetal tissues?
Option: Pay the mother for fetal tissues that she has produced.
Pro: The highest quality tissue can be obtained when doctors can choose from many sources.
Option: Allow the medical use of tissues from aborted fetuses conceived for the purpose of obtaining fetal tissues.
Where laws allow abortions for the express purpose of obtaining fetal tissues, laws create incentives for producing fetuses destined to be aborted. Then if women are paid for tissues from aborted fetuses, they will have a financial incentive, even if they feel charitable, to become pregnant and get an abortion.
Option: Allow the medical use of tissues from fetuses aborted only for reasons other than obtaining fetal tissue.
Pro: If laws prohibit abortions for the express purpose of obtaining fetal tissues, the medical use of fetal tissues will not cause an increase in the number of abortions.
Option: Allow the medical use of tissues from fetuses only in cases where the fetuses were spontaneously aborted.
Con: The supply of fetuses that result from natural (as opposed to induced) abortions is inadequate to meet the demand of patients who could benefit from fetal tissue implants. What is worse is that, of those fetuses that result from natural abortions, only a small percentage that doctors obtain are in a usable condition.
Option: Allow no medical use of fetal tissues.
Pro: Those who are 'pro-life' will be satisfied.
Con: Medical research will be impeded; scientists may not be able to learn how to cure certain diseases.