FETAL TISSUE RESEARCH
Scientific experimentation performed upon or
using tissue taken from human fetuses.
Although fetal tissue research has led to
medical advances, including the development of
the polio and rubella vaccines in the 1950s, it has
also generated controversy because of its use of
fetuses from elective ABORTIONS. Fetal tissue
research has been subject to strict government
regulation and periodic moratoriums on federal
funding. The National Institutes of Health
(NIH) Revitalization Act of 1993 (Pub. L. No.
103-43 [42 U.S.C.A. §§ 289g-1, -2]) regulates
many aspects of fetal tissue research.
History
Fetal tissue research has been conducted in
the United States since the middle of the twenti-
eth century. Its practice became more common
