Hungarian court condemns black market sales of aborted fetal parts for cosmetic use

Abortion in itself is tragic enough, but the penchant for people to use dead babies for such ventures as cosmetic development is an abhorrent practice, and one condemned strongly in an international court recently, aided by a friend-of-the-court brief from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

ADF reports that “The City Court of Budapest has found eight people guilty of illegally harvesting embryonic stem cells and tissue from aborted babies and using them for profit in cosmetic procedures.” This heinous crimes are a fruit of a system that legalizes death at varying stages of development, leading to opportunistic outcomes such as what happened in Hungary:

“In July 2009, police arrested nine people for using embryonic stem cells and tissues from aborted children for commercial gain. At a Kaposvár clinic specializing in plastic surgery, hundreds of patients agreed to be injected with the cells and tissue for $25,000 per treatment. The procedure was not approved by medical authorities or the Ethics Committee of Hungary’s Scientific Advisory Board.”

The idea that a baby’s death resulted in someone getting fuller cheeks or better skin is sickening to a person of conscience. ADF International Deputy Director Roger Kiska said:

“Any baby deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, not as a commodity for commercial gain. We commend the court for ruling strongly against this horrific and inhuman practice and outlawing this kind of hideous black market. A civilized society values the precious lives of children and does not reduce them to commodities in elective cosmetic procedures.”

However, the use of fetal cells for elective reasons isn’t exclusive to Hungary. In the United States, many reports exist of such practices. There was the case last year of aborted babies being converted from waste to fuel in Oregon. Pro-life organizations such as Life Dynamics and Children of God for Life have reported on the use of aborted babies for other purposes for many years now, such as the controversy arose a few years ago when reports emerged that Neocutis, a cosmetic company, used aborted fetal cells in its products.Hungary’s condemnation of this practice is important because it’s a practice that has been exposed in our own nation. But as the ADF brief notes, “the use of embryonic stem cells and tissue in a way in which violates the human dignity of the unborn child is criminally unacceptable.” It adds that “the gross negligence involved in the treatments and utter disdain for both the human life of the aborted children or the clients, all for the sole purpose of financial profit, should be punished with the most serious sentences available to this court.”