Many of us may have never knew that fetal tissue can be donated until these past few weeks but since the pro-life organization, Center for Medical Progress, released videos that ignited a battle on some of these reproductive issues around abortion and Planned Parenthood, we're learning that this is quite common. 

What is fetal tissue donation? It's a little known byproduct of abortions where the use of organs and tissue from aborted fetuses and embryos are donated for both technical and monetary research. 

Conservative pundits and lawmakers — including some contenders for the Republican party’s presidential nominee in 2016 — have seized momentum from the video, launching an investigation into Planned Parenthood and threatening to strip the nonprofit organization of its federal funding (though, it should be noted, none of these funds are used for abortion services).

What is fetal tissue research?

This process dates all the way back to the 1930s. Scientists have used tissue from aborted fetuses as path to deeply understand cell biology and it has also played a major role in the development of vaccines. Cells from the fetus were used to develop both the polio and rubella vaccines. The 1954 Nobel Peace Prize for medicine was awarded to American immunologists who developed the polio vaccine, based on cultures of human fetal kidney cells. 

Research around fetal tissue uses the tissue taken from a legal abortion and is used to study potential treatments for diseases such as diabetes, cancer and even birth defects. Scientists have learned a lot by analyzing this tissue from the body especially around understanding the process of development and how the body grows and changes upon being diagnosed with certain medical conditions. 

It is a valid and legal process. Scientists obtain fetal tissue from hospitals, nonprofit tissue banks and abortion clinics. There can be no profit made from fetal tissue and it must be done with the full consent of the patient. There is also an existing law that requires the tissue provider must be paid for the cost of the removal and transport of the specimens. 

In light of these videos, many people think this is a secret industry however The National Institutes of Health spent $76 million on fetal research in 2014. It actually plays a huge role in biomedical research and Planned Parenthood is one of the many healthcare providers of the tissue. 

As always, it's difficult to argue any side when politics and health and medicine cross paths. The four main reasons some are against this act are:

• It could encourage abortion
• It could incentivize abortion providers
• It could change the way the abortions are conducted
• Life begins at conception, so the fetal tissue donation should be illegal

One could argue that donating this is similar to donating organs or bone marrow. Some people feel a strong pull and want to donate to science for the betterment of treatment and  medicine. 

There is really no replacement for the benefit fetal tissue gives. This type of biomedical research depends on fetal cells especially because researchers prefer them over adult cells because they elicit less of an immune response than adult cells do, lowering the risk of tissue rejection during testing. 

There are many laws that govern this process today. It costs $30-$100 per fetal tissue donation per specimen which covers the handling and transportation of the tissue. Costs around this can vary depending on the facility and location of each individual. 

The fact is, research is how we move forward and progress in health and medicine. It's a necessary part of learning and improving treatments and connections between diseases and much more.