A San Francisco company called Neocutis is selling cosmetic and dermatological products that have come from aborted fetal tissue. Neocutis openly admits that their PSP (Processed Skin Cell Proteins) products are derived from the cells of an electively aborted fetus. These PSP products are being marketed to treat around the eye wrinkles and puffiness, to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, and provide long lasting hydration for luminous skin.Neocutis states that this was a one time harvesting of fetal cells from only one abortion and they will never have to sample an aborted baby again. They also argue that because fetal tissue has been important in the past, and if it is done responsibly, that research on electively aborted fetal tissue is fine. In their statement about the responsible use of fetal tissue, Neocutis argues:
Since the 1930s, the international medical community has used donated fetal tissue to better understand cell biology and as an essential tool in the development of vaccines, which are credited with saving millions of lives worldwide. The 1954 Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded to researchers who utilized fetal kidney cells to develop the polio vaccine. Soon, patients who have suffered a severe burn, leg ulcer or wound—or are recovering from surgery—will heal faster, more safely and with far less scarring thanks to the emergence of new treatments developed from cultured fetal skin cells. Our view—which is shared by most medical professionals and patients—is that the limited, prudent and responsible use of donated fetal skin tissue can continue to ease suffering, speed healing, save lives, and improve the well-being of many patients around the globe.
They are right that fetal tissue is a valuable tool for research and has saved lives. But a distinction must be made between fetal tissue that comes from an elective abortion and fetal tissue that comes from a spontaneous abortion more commonly called a miscarriage. Using fetal tissue obtained from a miscarriage donated by parents is morally acceptable just as using organs from a child who died in an accident is morally permissible, even laudable.
But, just as harvesting organs from a death row inmate is morally wrong, so is harvesting tissue from a fetus that was electively aborted. As with embryonic stem cell research, many people argue that if a human organism is "going to die anyway" it is morally permissible to harvest their biological material for research or for use in other humans. Neocutis even says that their fetus wouldn't have made to to term anyway so it was fine to kill it first and use the skin for their products.
The Catholic Church and others rightly reject this argument because we are ALL "going to die anyway." Not a one of us is going to make it out alive. The "going to die anyway" argument makes us all look like harvestable biological material at some point in our lives.
In other words, if it requires that the life of a human organism be purposefully terminated to obtain the desired tissue, then it is immoral to use the tissues obtained for research or for organ transplants. This seems like a no brainer ethically, but some people do not understand the subtly.
Neocutis uses the weight of the polio vaccine to bolster what they believe is the moral high ground. The reality is that the fetal cells needed for such experiments can come from an ethical source, namely a spontaneous abortion or miscarriage.
Neocutis had a choice to used fetal cells from a miscarried fetus, but they choose to use the cells of a murdered fetus instead.
As with vaccines, we Catholics are charged with finding out whether the products that we use or that our doctor prescribes are produced ethically. In the case of Neocutis, their Bio-restorative Skin Cream, JOURNÉE Bio-restorative Day Cream, LUMIÈRE Bio-restorative Eye Cream and BIO-GEL Bio-restorative Hydrogel products are unethically produced. Catholics and other pro-lifers should not use these products and should discourage anyone they know from using them.
Hat Tip: Prolife Blogs
