Moral arguments on the use of ovarian tissue from aborted foetuses in infertility treatment.
The possibility of using eggs from an aborted foetus in IVF treatment has recently arisen after researchers presented work in which they managed to keep alive in the laboratory ovarian tissue taken from second and third trimester aborted foetuses for several weeks. Several ethical concerns and arguments have been raised. Some of them are general anti-abortion arguments while others relate to the use of eggs or ovarian tissue of aborted female foetuses in infertility treatment. In this article we will argue that most of the arguments for prohibiting the use of ovarian tissue from aborted foetuses in fertility treatment are not sufficient to provide ethical grounds for banning such a practice.
Mavroforou
Anna
A
Department of Forensic Sciences, University of Crete Medical School, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. amvroforou@hotmail.com
Michalodimitrakis
Emmanuel
E
D037881:Aborted Fetus; D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000941:ethics; D005260:Female; D016332:Fetal Tissue Transplantation / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000628:therapy*; D007258:Informed Consent; D010053:Ovary / Q000637:transplantation*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014019:Tissue Donors