“Do you think any business or clinic should sell fetal tissue for a profit?” With that question, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, chair of the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives, opened a hearing on bioethics and fetal tissue research on March 2nd. I was an invited witness, along with Kevin Donovan, MD (Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown); Patrick Lee, PhD (Center for Bioethics at Franciscan University of Steubenville); and Kathleen Schmainda, PhD (Medical College of Wisconsin). More about that in a moment.
If you have followed CBHD since our beginning, you may remember that in the early years, the Center was more active in public policy, testifying, issuing press releases, and commenting on the developments of the day. Over the past decade, and with a smaller staff, we chose to concentrate our emphasis on scholarly engagement of bioethical issues, continuing to strengthen the reputation and credibility of CBHD as a place of “rigorous research, theological and conceptual analysis, and charitable critique.”
One of the most visible results has been the formation of the Academy of Fellows about seven years ago. The Academy has coalesced into a group of Christians committed to advancing scholarship and encouraging one another in their pursuits. As one Fellow recently wrote me, “The combination of solid scholarly work in bioethics with personal faith and love for the Lord (scientia et pietatis) in a group the size of the Academy, is rare!”
Listening in on the Academy consultations is a blessing to me, as well as a stimulus to deeper thinking about a broad range of bioethical concerns. You will note that our Academy of Fellows recently met in February and that one of our Fellows, Bart Cusveller, is a contributor in this issue. The formation and maintenance of the Academy has been supported by a generous grant, now expiring. We are praying that others will see the value of this unique initiative, and take up the challenge to make future consultations a reality.
I have been reflecting on our commitment to academic rigor in light of my recent trip to Capitol Hill. My participation and written testimony reflect the level of scholarship that has become the hallmark of CBHD.[1] Rather than concentrating on sound bites, which is what I was accustomed to in my years in the pro-life movement, the focus of my written testimony was on providing careful research and analysis of the current state of human fetal tissue research and its ethical landmines. In my shorter oral testimony, I aimed to engage the listening audience. We think this approach combines the best of our early years of public engagement with our commitment to continuing to raise the bar on academic excellence.
My testimony addressed three main points:
The stated purpose of the hearing was to educate and inform on the bioethical issues of fetal tissue. Nonetheless, some chose to focus questions on Planned Parenthood and the undercover videos that exposed their connections with fetal tissue brokers, as well as researchers’ awareness about the source of California, San Diego School of Medicine), a minority witness who uses fetal tissue in his research, admitted he had “no idea” where the tissue came from or what it cost.[2]
Certain representatives, however, were more interested in complaining about subpoenas, eliciting yes/no answers to complex ethical questions, making comparisons with the Red Scare and the 1692 Salem witch trials, and generally describing the investigation into fetal tissue research as a “proxy attack” on “safe abortion in this country.” One of their more astonishing claims was that if one did not participate in fetal tissue research, they had no grounds on which to speak. According to this logic, only plagiarists have the right to critique stealing someone else’s research, to put it mildly.
One participant mistakenly claimed that fetal tissue research has already saved the lives and health of “millions,” and was necessary for future life-saving cures. Setting aside the back and forth on whether aborted fetuses were necessary for vaccines, Dr. Goldstein admitted that “I’m not aware of any [cures for disease] that have been definitely solved using fetal tissue, although arguably the development of treatments for HIV depended upon humanized mice.” Meanwhile, the march for ethically-derived therapies and cures goes inexorably on. It might take longer, but we will not have to apologize for exploiting abortion.
I was grateful to represent the Center and Trinity International University at the hearing. I realize the distance traveled since I crafted sound bites and rapid responses for journalists, more than a decade ago at Americans United for Life. All these things have their place. But my place now is in the often hidden world of “rigorous research, theological and conceptual analysis, and charitable critique.”
[1] The testimony is posted at https://cbhd.org/testimony-bioethics-and-fetal-tissue.
[2] The congressional hearing (two panels of two hours each) is posted at http://www.c-span.org/video/?405854-1/hearing-fetal-tissue-research.
Paige C. Cunningham, "From the Director's Desk," Dignitas 23, no. 1 (2016): 2–3.
