Should a cosmetics company be using skin cells from an aborted fetus as a key ingredient in a skin care product?
No. It's a gruesome discovery, the stuff of a horror movie.
This is really disturbing.
"I have this great new skin cream. The special ingredient: cells from a dead baby."
From the Washington Times:
A San Francisco cosmetics company has ignited an outcry among pro-lifers for including an unexpected ingredient in its anti-aging creams: skin-cell proteins from an aborted fetus.
Children of God for Life, a watchdog group that monitors the use of fetal material in medical products, called last week for a boycott of all treatments manufactured by Neocutis Inc., which acknowledges that the key ingredient in its product line was developed from an aborted boy.
"There's just no excuse for using aborted babies in skin-care products," said Debi Vinnedge, executive director of Children of God for Life, a 10-year-old organization based in Murfreesboro, Tenn. "The reaction, the shock and anger I've seen is incredible."
In a statement released Friday, in response to a wave of condemnation from pro-life and religious blogs, Neocutis defended the use of its trademarked ingredient, Processed Skin Cell Proteins, or PSP, arguing that the fetal cell line was harvested in a responsible, ethical manner for use in treating severe dermatological injuries.
The company compared its situation to that of researchers who used fetal kidney cells to develop the polio vaccine.
"Our view - which is shared by most medical professionals and patients - is that the limited, prudent and responsible use of donated fetal skin tissue can continue to ease suffering, speed healing, save lives and improve the well-being of many patients around the globe," said the statement.
The ingredient was developed at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland from proteins in the skin tissue of a 14-week-old male baby electively aborted at the university's hospital and donated to the Swiss university. The abortion was deemed medically necessary because the baby could not survive to term, according to Neocutis.
The fetal skin cell line was taken from a piece of skin the size of a postage stamp and donated voluntarily by the parents for medical research. The donation was approved by the hospital's medical ethics committee and in accordance with Swiss laws, said the Neocutis statement.
Neocutis also insisted that the one donation would be sufficient for the manufacture of its products. Critics argue that it's impossible to know how long the cell line will last, but Neocutis states on its Web site that "no additional fetal biopsies will ever be required."
"We feel we are in complete compliance with the laws of God and the laws of man," Neocutis President Mark J. Lemko said in an e-mail response to critics, which was posted on the Children of God for Life Web site.
It sounds like Lemko is engaged is some major damage control.
He stresses the medical application of the Neocutis products.
...Ms. Vinnedge accused the company of playing up PSP's medical applications in order to draw attention from its cosmetic uses. Although the company developed PSP for the treatment of skin ulcers, burns and scarring, Neocutis soon recognized the ingredient's value in restoring aging skin.
Neocutis cosmetic products using the cell line include Bio-Restorative Skin Cream, Bio-Gel Bio-Restorative Hydrogel, Lumiere Bio-Restorative Eye Cream and Bio-Restorative Serum with PSP Intensive Spot Treatment. In terms of price, they're not exactly comparable to Maybelline: A 1-ounce bottle of Journee Bio-Restorative Day Cream costs $120.
Judie Brown, president of American Life League, said that although use of aborted fetal parts is indefensible for any purpose, Neocutis' use for a product as trivial as an anti-aging cream speaks uniquely to current trends and the desire for eternal youth.
"What's new about this is our cultural attitude toward beautification and our sense of self ... and living forever," she said.
Ms. Vinnedge said she would object to the use of the fetal cell lines no matter what their use, medical or cosmetic, arguing that mature cells are just as effective. Indeed, other companies make high-end skin creams using proteins derived from postnatal placentas, which Mrs. Brown called completely morally acceptable to pro-lifers.
Even so, Ms. Vinnedge said, using fetal tissue in anti-wrinkle cream crosses moral and ethical boundaries.
I completely agree.
The firm's online entries say the products were "inspired by fetal skin's unique properties" and that the technology "uses cultured fetal skin cells to obtain an optimal, naturally balanced mixture of skin nutrients."
"Neocutis means, literally, new skin. And who wouldn't like to turn back time to create flawless baby skin again?" says one ad.
Rather than focusing on having "flawless baby skin again," I can't help but think of turning back time to before the baby was aborted.
Vinnedge makes an excellent point:
"PETA made sure we know that companies aren't testing cosmetics on animals," she said of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "We want to make sure they're not using fetal material."
Makers of cosmetics tout their ethical treatment of animals.
It would be nice if they were as interested in treating human life with similar respect.
3 comments:
Your article on neocutis skin care products represents falsified facts, that obviously have not been checked and are not supported. - There have not been 'multiple' abortions, fyi, there was ONE fetal cell salmple taken..one, as in a single culture. That culture was not taken to make 'anti aging skin cream'..it was harvested because the mother had a complicated pregnancy resulting in a spontaneous abortion. The child would not have lived, nor would the mother. She and her husband were both doctors in the hospital where the technology was discovered.
So, just so you can get the facts, tests were then done to try and gain insight into what caused these complications, and from these tests, the factors that went into neocutis skin care products were discovered. This was the ONLY culture ever taken and all skin cells since have been synthetically grown. No killing babies, or growing organs as you'd like to give the impression of.
The company that 'spun off' started as a cream to treat serious burns and injuries for children. It's only been in the past few years that the skin care line has been developed.
Would you still insist in complaining because a mother and doctor was devistated due to losing her child and then used the knowledge from the experience to help children who've had serious injuries???
I'd appreciate it if you'd check your facts, and while you're at it, you may want to remove your american flag from the article, as the products were developed in switzerland. And the photo of a fetus is more than slightly offensive. Neocutis has its roots in helping children regain their confidence and preventing them from living with embarrassing scars..and you're organizing and encouraging others to complain about it.
Read your bible, that's obviously a new thought to your organization. You're not fighting to stop abortion, you're fighting for a cause you know nothing about.
After trying to post this comment on COG for life, I wasn't allowed to post it on an open comment page..wonder why all the comments on that page support their view??? Probably the same reason all those in their organization think they have the truth...
This seems like a spam comment.
What American flag in the article? What photo of a fetus in the article? I don't know what you're talking about.
I suppose you just wanted your comment published somewhere.
Happy?
I have NO problem using these products. Nor do I have a problem with a cell line being used for the purpose of developing the product.
It is a cell line that has been grown in a lab. To give the impression that there are aborted fetus being utilized is appalling and inflammatory. Cell lines are used everyday in a multitude of applications. Before you get yourself in an uproar, I suggest you clean out your medicine cabinet,fridge and everything else in your home and research every product and it's origins.
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