Washington Post: Fetal tissue research like mine saves children’s lives. Banning it is dangerous.
Carolyn Coyne, professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

“…[T]he only certain consequence of the new [Trump administration] policy [on the use of human fetal tissue for medical research] is that it will impede medical discoveries that could advance new treatments to save the lives of infants, the very lives those in favor of this policy claim they are trying to protect. … To say that the new government restrictions could be devastating to scientific research in the United States is an understatement. As a consequence of this policy, our ability to understand and fight many types of human disease may be significantly slowed or completely halted. … The use of fetal tissue has led to fundamental discoveries including improving treatments for HIV, defining the cellular components associated with Alzheimer’s disease, identifying the placental cell types targeted by pathogens associated with fetal disease, the development of treatments aimed at improving dementia or other neurodegenerative disorders, and the development of vaccines that have saved the lives of millions. … [T]the debate on whether fetal tissue should be used for medical research appears to be based far more in politics than in a desire to improve human or infant health…” (6/11).