Nearly 700 UW-Madison faculty sign letter on fetal tissue bill

Journal Sentinel ^ | 8-25-2015 | Karen Herzog

[Citizen Zed]

Nearly 700 University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty members have signed a letter to the editor to the Journal Sentinel arguing that a bill being considered by the Legislature to ban the use of fetal tissue and cells would not only close off avenues of hope for patients, it would send a message to biomedical scientists and the biotechnology industry "that Wisconsin is no place to do business."

"We wonder whether legislators have considered the ethical implications of denying current and future patients the benefits of the research that would be blocked by this legislation," the letter says.

Research done with cell lines derived from fetal tissue has benefited millions in the form of vaccines and treatments for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, heart disease, and viral and bacterial infections, the letter says.

"The cell lines derived from fetal tissue are commonly used for research in laboratories worldwide," the letter says. "Other tissues and cells, such as those derived from miscarriages, cannot be substituted for this research, despite the claims of the proponents of this ban."

One widely used cell line known as HEK293 is used in nearly 100 labs on the UW-Madison campus alone and is critical for flu vaccine development and production, the letter says.

"There is no suitable substitute for the HEK293 cell. To attempt to find a replacement for these or for cells derived in the future, in all their diverse applications, would cost billions and risk untold numbers of lives."

As originally written, the legislation proposed by Rep. André Jacque (R-De Pere) would criminalize the use of cells derived from human fetal tissues. It is already a crime to profit from the sale of fetal tissue, and abortion clinics say no tissue transfers of any kind are happening in Wisconsin.

[vpintheak]

Poor ghouls can’t use murdered baby bodies. How sad. Disgusting.

[afraidfortherepublic]

700 UW professors sign letter opposing halt to the use of fetal tissue in research. Of course their reasoning is faulty. Most, of not all, advances from stem cells have come from the use of adult stem cells. Nothing has developed from fetal stem cells. And, of course, there is an unlimited supply of umbilical cord stem cells available. Now we know the immorality of those teaching our kids in Madison.

FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.

[Jack Hammer]

Which animal species tears its young apart to make ‘medicines’?

[CSM]

“The cell lines derived from fetal tissue are commonly used for research in laboratories worldwide,” the letter says.”

I call bull squeeze on this claim. I don’t believe it for a millisecond. However, let’s accept the premise...

OK, now we just see the same argument made by the scientists in 1930’s Germany. I wonder how it feels for these UofW signatories to be pushing the National Socialist agenda from a dark history.