July 8th, 1991. Geraldo Rivera on his namesake talk show explores the issue of fetal tissue transplants. On stage are Malikha Abdulmutababbir, a mother whose son needs a bone marrow transplant and Jay Kantor PhD from NYU, who says conceiving another child for the purpose would not be immoral.
“Would it be ethical for this woman…to go to her ex, become artificially inseminated…and use that second child for the spare parts she needs..?”
Ms. Abdulmutababbir mentions she might be more willing were the father not her X, and that her Islamic faith plays a role in her decision.
The conversation moves on to potential long term social effects of procedures like this, after Time magazine printed a success story where one child was conceived to transplant marrow to a sibling in need. Is American society drifting towards having babies just for spare parts?
Fetal tissue transplants and similar medical procedures continue to be fully explored and occasionally used today. Religion is the primary antagonist speaking against such procedures.
This day, Geraldos’ TV history.