
Since as far back as the 1930s, scientists have experimented with fetal tissues to advance their knowledge of human biology — for the treatment of diseases like Parkinson’s, for example — but in 1988 President Ronald Reagan put a temporary hold on government funded studies of fetal tissue retrieved from intentional abortions. Such studies, the administration feared, rather illogically, would promote abortions or result in added pressure for women to abort unwanted fetuses if they knew such an outlet for the tissues existed.
The moratorium was lifted in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, and then followed by a Congressional Act in 1994 that permitted government funding of fetal tissue transplant studies to help treat conditions such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes and Parkinson’s.