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Nebraska Medical Center using aborted fetus brain cells for Alzheimer's research

LINCOLN, Neb. - The University of Nebraska is exploring new, controversial boundaries within the medical field, which could lead some taxpayers to wonder how their money is being used.

The Omaha World-Herald reported in its Sunday editions that the brain cells of aborted fetuses are being used in the study of Alzheimer's disease by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The federally funded studies are the Medical Center's first to use fetal tissue. The studies are supported by grants of more than $1 million per year from the National Institutes of Health.

In 1993, the federal government lifted its ban on research using fetal tissue.

The research uses questionable medical ethics, said Richard Duncan, an NU law professor.

Nebraska is traditionally anti-abortion, so the University of Nebraska's use of taxpayers' money to fund this research is inconsiderate, Duncan said.

Even though the use of the fetus' tissue could benefit others medically, it is unwise for any medical school to conduct this research, especially when it is federally funded, Duncan said.

Robert Audi, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor of philosophy, said federal funds for research on fetuses shouldn't be ruled out just because abortion is involved. He added that he wasn't taking a stand for or against abortion.

"I would say even if abortion is deeply controversial, that is not automatically a sufficient reason to rule out public funds for fetal remains experimentation, provided there is proper consent," Audi said.

Robert R. Blank, chairman of Metro Right to Life, an anti-abortion group, said it was "abhorrent and repulsive" that the Medical Center would use tax dollars for experiments using aborted babies.

Blank said his organization is concerned any time public money and officials become involved with abortion.

Audi said he didn't have a position on the current Med Center fetus research.

"I am inclined to say that with the right safeguards, some procedures of this sort may be warranted," Audi said.

Safeguards include the conditions of consent, scientific quality and ethical conduct of the experimentation, Audi said.

Medical Center Vice Chancellor Dr. William O. Berndt told the World-Herald the research has been underway for several years.

Berndt said he knows fetal-tissue research is controversial, but it could improve the lives of many people. History has shown important scientific work has always been controversial, Berndt said.

"We are trying to understand the fundamental biology of human brain cells," Berndt said in the World-Herald story.

The research could help determine what goes wrong in the brain in patients with disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. It may lead to new treatments.

Berndt declined to reveal the identity of the researchers at the Medical Center because of concerns about adverse public reaction.

Dr. LeRoy Carhart, who runs an abortion clinic in Bellevue, provided the tissue for the research. Carhart was appointed as an unpaid faculty volunteer in October 1997.

Before the fetuses are used for research, women must agree to participate and sign a release form.

Audi said the Med Center's research raised ethical questions including whether people can give consent for experimental use of any human body that is not their own.

Audi said that reasoning depends on whether a fetus is considered a human body. He also questioned the father's consent rights.

"I would say that it is reasonable to think that a woman may give appropriate consent if the body is that of a fetus she has carried and is genetically hers."

The Medical Center does not perform elective abortions, Berndt said. An elective abortion is an abortion that is used as a form of birth control.

Berndt said Carhart does not perform abortions at the Medical Center, and he does not teach there.

Berndt told the World-Herald the Medical Center is also involved in controversial research using embryonic stem cells. Researchers hope to use the stem cells for treatment of a number of disorders.