Fetal Tissue Was Used in the Testing of Trump's COVID-19 "Cure"
- fionacsweet
- Oct 8, 2020
- 2 min read
The antibody cocktail that Trump took shortly after his positive coronavirus test was developed using cells from aborted fetal tissue, which is a practice that the White House and anti-abortion groups oppose.
Last week, Trump received Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' cocktail of monoclonal antibodies, an experimental therapeutic for COVID-19 that is still in experimental stages. In a
five minute video posted to Twitter on Wednesday, the president went so far as to call it "the key." He also said that he feels "this was a blessing from God that I caught [the virus], I think it was a blessing in disguise. I caught it, I heard about this drug, I said, 'Let me take it' … and it was incredible the way it worked."
However, Trump's administration opposes this type of stem cell research. The drug's potency was tested in a lab using HEK 293T cells, a cell line originally from the kidney tissue of a fetus aborted in the Netherlands in the 1970s. The cells "were used in testing the antibody candidates' ability to neutralize the virus" and helped researchers "determine the 'best' two antibodies, which now make up the REGN-COV2 cocktail." Remdesivir, another drug Trump received, also was tested using the same cells.
However, there is no fetal tissue actually present in the final product of either drug.
Therefore, even though the Trump administration said it would no longer support funding medical research that used aborted fetal tissue, the White House feels as if they weren't in violation of this policy and anti-abortion groups are actually still supporting Trump.
A White House official told CBS News today that "the Administration's policy on the use of human fetal tissue from elective abortions in research specifically excluded 'already-established (as of June 5, 2019) human fetal cell lines. Thus, a product made using extant cell lines that existed before June 5, 2019 would not implicate the Administration's policy."
Ah, so they get by on a technicality, and are completely ignoring how this goes against their supposed moral standing.
Anti-abortion groups, who also oppose this type of research, didn't raise any issue with it when it was Trump benefiting from it. Their logic is that "no human embryonic stem cells or human fetal tissue were used to produce the treatments President Trump received – period." However, they didn't address the fact that fetal tissue was in fact used to test the product.
I'm so confused on how this is only okay when it benefits Trump; it's as if the rules don't apply to him. His supporters seem to follow him blindly even if he does things that go against their morals or ideals. A big selling point for Trump's campaign is his pro-life stance.
The resounding message here is that abortions are only okay when they can benefit a man. Once again, I find that Conservatives are mostly only pro-life when they can take away reproductive rights from a woman. Otherwise, they support the death penalty and less gun safety laws. Not very pro-life of them, is it?
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