What is an elective aborted fetal cell line?
A cell line is defined as, “cells of a single type taken from an animal or a human and grown in the laboratory (1).” An elective aborted fetal cell line consists of cells taken from an aborted fetus. To qualify for a cell line the fetus has to be healthy and preserved within five minutes of the elective abortion so the cell tissues will stay alive for the scientific research (2). In 1962 Dr. Leonard Hayflick developed the WI-38 human diploid cell line which was established by an aborted three month old healthy female fetus (3). The fetus was dissected and the lung cells were extracted to be used as a host for viruses when making vaccines. These lung cells multiply and are used in several vaccines. Before Dr. Hayflick received this particular fetus, he went through several fetuses to establish the WI-38 cell line (4). This is true of all aborted fetal cell lines. For example at least eighty-one aborted fetuses were used in the making of the rubella vaccine (5). In addition to the WI-38
Related Questions
- I object on religious grounds to use of vaccines that were grown on cell lines derived from aborted fetal material. Must our Catholic school accept our religious exemption for these vaccines?
- Does all stem cell research involve the destruction of human embryos or the use of aborted fetal tissue?
- What cell line should be used in order to produce lentivirus?
