Resolution Adopted by the
CCAR
Medical Use of Fetal
Tissue
Adopted by the 104th Annual
Convention of
the Central Conference of American Rabbis
Montreal, Quebec, June 1993
Background
:
Fetal tissue is a unique substance that has been constructively used
in medical
research for at least
sixty years. Cultures of fetal kidney cells were used in the
1950s to develop the polio vaccine.
Today, critical studies which help unlock the
structure of HIV utilize human fetal tissue. Highly
promising transplant therapies using human
fetal tissue hold out the possibility of cure or amelioration
of conditions including
Parkinsons
disease, type I diabetes mellitus, DeGeorge syndrome, Alzheimers
disease, spinal cord injuries and Huntington’s chorea.
It is increasingly apparent for a variety of
scientific and technical reasons that
this tissue, to be truly efficacious, must be obtained from
therapeutic rather than
spontaneous
abortions.
There is an emerging
consensus of Reform Jewish authorities that tissue obtained from
either therapeutic or spontaneous
abortions may be used for purposes of life saving
or life enhancing research. In 1985, the CCAR
published a responsum in the Yearbook
. (See appendix B). Therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED that, the CCAR supports fetal tissue
research, provided that relevant
legislation and regulations protect women and fetuses from
exploitation, and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that, the CCAR adopts the principles contained in the 1985
responsum, “Fetus Used For
Experimentation.”