I found an article in Experimental Gerontology (20 Nov. 2008) which notes under ‘Materials and Methods’ that some years ago (not specifically stated), a male fetus in Switzerland that was not viable to be carried to term was aborted. The family agreed to a tissue donation for medical research. This resulted in a line of cells that produces fetal skin cells which were used to create topical treatments for skin cancer, severe burns, deep puncture wounds and other skin trauma. After time, somebody figured out that same material could be used in skin cream. The original cell line begun with the donated tissue continues producing cells which are what’s used in the product.
Looks like some folks might have gone off half-cocked on this one...
Thanks, that’s what I was thinking was happening after I read the article in full. Still don’t know what to think about this — on the one hand the baby was donated by the family, and as you said according to the doctors the baby could NOT be carried to term (so it wasn’t a “teenager in trouble” type abortion to begin with...). My parents had a stillborn child in 1962 and they donated his body to science so they could figure out what went wrong and hopefully stop other babies from dying in utero. If this is what these parents were thinking — that perhaps some good could come out of their tragedy then it wasn’t malice that created this. As you said, a slew of medical advances were made first, then the cosmetics industry picked up on it...
This is a rough topic, and it’s not as black and white as people seem to feel about it, IMHO. Now, I personally don’t think I could ever use these products after finding out how they were created, but if I had skin cancer, or extensive burns and such as you described I - to be PERFECTLY HONEST - don’t think it would bother me all that much to be treated with those medical ‘products’ if it meant saving my life so I could be around for MY children. Maybe that’s selfish of me, but I’m just being honest...
Thanks for the extra information on this. I appreciate it.
There’s no justification for using ANYTHING resulting from the murder of another person, especially the most innocent and vulnerable of persons.
It’s sick and it’s evil. Period.
It would be wonderful if there was some unknown side effect that produced ugly, deep wrinkles or something equally disfiguring.