UC California, State of California, and Others Harvest Dead Babies for Research
By Maggie Garcia
Despite federal laws prohibiting the selling of fetal tissue, some in the abortion industry are ignoring the law in pursuit of revenue.
Mark Crutcher of Life Dynamics recently exposed two businesses that sell baby body parts to the burgeoning biomedical research field. One company that supplies fetal tissue to Nothern California researchers is the Anatomic Gift Foundation. But perhaps the most well-known supplier is a company called Opening Lines. The company was thrust into the spotlight last month as the subject of an ABC 20/20 story. The episode showed Opening Lines' founder, Dr. Miles Jones, discussing the profit in selling fetal parts to researchers. "If you have a guy that's desperate for, let's say, a heart, then he'll pay you whatever you ask," he said.
According to Life Dynamics literature, Jim and Brenda Bardsley founded the Anatomic Gift Foundation in 1994. They are purportedly located in several locations in the United States. Not all of the facilities market fetal tissue, but Life Dynamics has determined that the Anatomical Gift Foundation has set up a fetal tissue harvesting facility at the Mayfair Women's Clinic in Aurora, Colorado. The Mayfair Women's clinic is owned and operated by Dr. Ronald Edward Kusefski. In the 1996 Life Dynamics's video "Cristy's Choice", it is revealed that three years earlier, Dr. Kusefski performed an abortion on a young woman named Cristy who was left comatose after Kusefski botched her abortion.
Though the law is clear that abortions cannot be altered in order to get a better specimen, the 20/20 story featured a man, Dean Alberty, who had worked at both Opening Lines and the Anatomical Gift Foundation. He told ABC's Chris Wallace that both businesses altered abortions to get a better specimen of baby parts. Alberty said that at one clinic in Overland Park, Kansas, early abortions were normally performed with a suction machine. But in the case where the fetus was being donated for research, Alberty said that a special syringe was used for the procedure. Wallace told viewers that this puts women through a longer and more uncomfortable abortion.
Life Dynamics identified several Northern California researchers who ordered fetal body parts from the Anatomical Gift Foundation and Opening Lines. A review of purchase orders from both the Anatomical Gift Foundation and Opening Lines showed what body parts researchers were most interested in. One purchase order, which was classified as a "confidential protocol" came from South San Francisco-based Genentech, Inc. Greg Solar, a researcher with the publicly traded multinational company, requested "limbs, liver, thymus, (prenatal) (limbs 21+), (Thymus & Liver 17+). The purchase order outlined how the tissue was to be used: "Human fetal tissue will be used for the generation of SCID mice ... a SCID mouse is engrafted with either a human bone marrow fragment, thymus/liver graft or a lymph node. These mice will then be used to study hemogobinopatheis in vivo. Currently this model is the best available means of evaluating the biology of human hematopoietic stem cells".
According to a Genetech press release, "Genetech, Inc. is a leading international biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets human pharmaceuticals for significant unmet medical needs".
When I called Greg Solar, the Genetech researcher who had requested the fetal parts for comment, the number listed on the purchase order was no longer in service. A call to Genetech's corporate communications department also did not yield a response. The phone numbers given on the press release had a recording that said "The PCS customer you have called is not available at this time".
The University of California at San Francisco researcher, Dr. Deborah Froh, also ordered fetal tissue. Dr. Froh's purchase order requested "Lung 14-24 (will specify with each request)." The 14-24 presumably means a lung from a 14-24 week old preborn baby. Dr. Froh used the lungs for "Ontogeny and regulation of surfactant components in human fetal lung. Premature infants lack surfactant for adequate ventilation". A call to the number listed on Dr. Froh's purchase order was routed to an answering message with the following message: "Hello, this is Debbie Froh. I am no longer with at the University of California." The California Medical Board records for Dr. Froh indicate that her medical license is delinquent and "a citation and or fine had been levied." The fine was levied because Dr. Froh failed to inform the medical board of her change of address. Records show that Dr. Froh's last address was in Crozet, Virginia.
Dr. Heidi Horner, associate director for CNS Pharmacology at Athena Neurosciences in South San Francisco requested "Intact brains preferred but large pieces of brain may be usable...." Dr. Horner's purchase order said that the tissue would be used to "test the effects of endogenous and exogenous neurotoxins on cultured ventral mesencephalic neurons. This will hopefully lead to a better understanding of neurodegenerative processes. The end goal is to discover treatments for Parkinson's disease."
Athena Neurosciences, Inc. is listed with the California secretary of state's office as a stock company. Last year, Athena Neurosciences, Inc., along with Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. sued the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, was for patent infringement. Robert Hillman, an attorney with the Menlo Park law firm of Fish & Richardson, who represented the defendants, was unavailable for comment on the lawsuit. Dr. Horner could not be reached at the phone number she gave on her purchase order.
Dr. Reen Wu, an associate professor at the California Primate Research Center at UC Davis had a precise procedure for harvesting fetal tissue. "Dissect out entire trachea & bronchi intact whenever possible from fetal cadaver (needs to have at least 1/3 of total tissue), place Specimen in container with media ASAP. Store on wet ice". Dr. Wu requested, "1-5 samples per shipment. Requires 5 spec. [specimens] every month". Dr. Wu used the tissue for "growth and differentiation of human conducting airway epithelial cells in culture-Disease study-Cystic Fibrosis". One curious note about Dr. Wu's purchase of fetal tissue is that the research center where he works purportedly only works on "non-human models". According to the center's web site, "The California Regional Primate Research Center (CRPRC) was established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a research resource for investigators when the nonhuman primate is the animal model of choice".
According to the purchase orders that Life Dynamics acquired, other Northern California researchers that bought fetal tissue included Jane Lebkowski, a senior director of research with Applied Immune Sciences in Menlo Park. Lebkowski requested "thymus, lymphoid node, liver, bone" for "monociaonal antibodies studies". The purchase order stated that the fetal tissue was to be harvested from babies who where "gestational age 15-22 weeks ... morphologically normal fetus." Additionally, she requested "Abstract chart for age, sex, blood type, medical history ... tissue to be removed under sterile conditions".
The California department of health services also seems to be buying pre-born baby parts. A "confidential protocol" by Dr. John F. Krowka at the California Department of Health Services Berkeley facility showed him ordering "liver, thymus & skin 18-24 wks." Dr. Krowka ordered the tissue to study "liver/thymus: molecular and biomechanical mechanisms of cell death of human lymphocytes, cell surface markers and stimuli that can trigger cell death and activation in vitro. Will also be transplanted into immunodeficient mice for in vivo study...."
After the 20/20 story broke, congressional hearings were held regarding the trafficking of fetal tissue. Dr. Miles Jones of Opening Lines was called to testify before Congress regarding his role in selling fetal tissue. Dr. Jones did not appear at the hearings. All attempts to reach Dr. Jones at his Missouri clinic were to no avail--the phone has been disconnected. Opening Line's web site, www. openinglines.net, has been closed down. According to Life Dynamics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is seeking Dr. Jones.
FBI Says Starting Probe Into Fetal Tissue
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Kansas City, Missouri, has launched a probe into the marketing of fetal tissue, an FBI spokesman said on Friday.
``We are investigating possible criminal violations in the marketing of fetal tissue to determine if there is a violation of federal criminal law,'' FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza told Reuters.
He would not elaborate on the scope of the investigation or offer any further details.
On Thursday, members of a House Commerce subcommittee called on Attorney General Janet Reno to open an investigation into the selling of fetal tissue after a Kansas City-area pathologist was featured in an ABC News undercover report about the alleged selling of fetal body parts for profit.
The pathologist, Dr. Miles Jones, was recorded by a hidden camera discussing making thousands of dollars a week selling fetal parts.
Jones was subpoenaed to testify before the committee but did not appear and was held in contempt of Congress.
The Health and Environmental subcommittee is holding hearings to determine if laws restricting the methods and fees involved in fetal tissue harvesting are being broken.
Fetal tissue research is permitted because scientists believe it holds promise for treating a range of diseases. But its sale is strictly limited. Sellers only can recoup the cost of harvesting tissue and cannot turn a profit.
Because aborted fetuses are one source for the tissue, many fear selling of the tissue will encourage abortions.
A spokesman for the House committee said further doctors may be putting women's health at risk by changing abortion procedures to obtain better tissue.