Republicans Repeatedly Voted To Use Aborted Fetuses For Scientific Research
BY TARA CULP-RESSLER AUG 3, 2015 12:24PM
-snip-
n 1988, during the Reagan administration, a panel of experts from the National Institutes of Health overwhelmingly voted in favor of allowing scientists to study biological material obtained from legal abortions. By a 19 to 0 vote, the group concluded that the practice should be considered morally acceptable because aborted fetal tissue is analogous to cadaver tissue, which is often used in scientific research.
And in 1993, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle [link:chrome-extension://klbibkeccnjlkjkiokjodocebajanakg/suspended.html#uri=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=102&session=2&vote=00115#position|voted to legalize fetal tissue research], even in cases when the samples were obtained from legal abortion procedures, when they approved the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act.
Spurred by pressure from groups looking for cures for degenerative diseases, that legislation lifted a previous ban on using fetal tissue in scientific research put in place during the Reagan administration. McConnell voted in favor — along with several other staunchly pro-life Republican lawmakers, like John McCain, Orrin Hatch, Fred Upton, and Lamar Smith.
In addition to the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act, the Senate had several other opportunities to vote on the issue of fetal tissue donation during the 1990s. Each time, a bipartisan majority indicated support for the practice. In 1992, for instance, most Republicans — including McConnell — voted against a proposal to limit fetal tissue research to samples procured from miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies. In 1997, the Senate voted down an amendment to the Udall Parkinson’s Research Act that would have prohibited funding for research on aborted fetal tissue.
Although some Democratic lawmakers have started to point out the apparent hypocrisy at play here, most of the politicians speaking out against Planned Parenthood have not addressed the 1993 vote on the NIH reauthorization bill.
-snip-
more
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/08/03/3687151/gop-fetal-tissue-donation/?
= new reply since forum marked as read
