c/nostupidquestions · by SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 321d

What do they do with aborted fetuses?

I've had this question for a while but never wanted the answer bc being unanswered made it a fascinating topic. But now I kind wanna know lol.

Please don't turn the comment section into anything controversial people.

37 points · 31 comments · view on lemmy.world

31 Comments

Kolanaki@pawb.social · 36 pts · 321d (2 replies)

Mario's Pizzeria & Abortion Clinic: Yesterday's loss is today's sauce!

Please don't turn the comment section into anything controversial people.

Aw, c'mon...

SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 10 pts · 321d

Jen? Is that you? From hr

wingsfortheirsmiles@feddit.uk · 2 pts · 320d

Weirdly reminds me of Futurama

TheFogan@programming.dev · 33 pts · 321d (8 replies)

from my understanding it's usually donated to medical research, but due to some anti-abortion rhetoric falsely producing fake stories of them being sold, it's otherwise discarded as medical waste.

SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 13 pts · 321d (6 replies)

Medical research makes sense. How is medical waste discarded?

neidu3@sh.itjust.works · 24 pts · 321d (4 replies)

Burnt in dedicated incinerators. Some hospitals have these as a means of disposing of tissue after surgeries.

LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 321d (3 replies)

Jeez, the level of stoicism, emotional detachment the hospital workers must master. I also imagine they would delegate the task to someone else so it's not like the doctor is throwing fetus in the trash, he delegates it to someone else who does not have all the information and does not know what they're disposing of. Less emotionally traumatizing for everybody that way.

Squirrelsdrivemenuts@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 320d

i imagine cremating fetusses is one of the lesser emotionally traumatizing things hospital workers have to deal with every day.

Also, if the fetus is big enough to be (near) viable and the abortion happens for medical reasons or in case of stillbirths, I hope/expect parents are given the option for a proper burial.

sad_detective_man@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 320d

I find the most effective way of handling grisly work like that is emotionally embracing the function of what you're doing. You can care for the lives of the deceased and love your work without having to play stoic mindfuck games with yourself.

Alternatively, many drink. Or reduce humanity in their minds to a state of matter. Vulnerability is hard and most employers will only exploit it anyway

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 320d

It helps to understand this is a natural process. Development is complex and sometimes fails, threatening the life of the mother and child. A lot of women used to die this way.

TheFogan@programming.dev · 5 pts · 321d

I'm far from an expert on the topic, I believe things like unused tissue (IE also things like amputated limbs, bad organs etc...) is more or less cremated.

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 320d

A cell line derived from an aborted fetus in the late 80s is now the basis for most good cell biology and disease related research. It's also the base line for synthesis of vaccines and biologic drugs. But, we are limited to this one line from one lab in Canada that has been commercialized by one company in California.

Huge waste of research potential to make the lives of all people better.

Regna@lemmy.world · 21 pts · 321d (1 reply)

It depends on the country, facility and age of the foetus. In a hospital setting it’s almost always medical waste as far as I know, but some people choose burial or strew the ashes in a special place after an abortion/miscarriage. If it’s a medical abortion it’s a non-issue, usually flushed.

Stem cell research is based on controlled origins, such as embryos from IVF, scientific volunteering, egg donations or similar procedures.

Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone · 6 pts · 321d

Ohhh strew

I read stew at first and was kind of concerned

DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 17 pts · 321d

To be placed in a vat to be cloned and grown into supersoldiers for the upcoming UN vs Martian Congressional Republic War.

Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 321d (2 replies)

Typically it's incinerated in the United States

TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website · 9 pts · 321d (1 reply)

And/or use for stem cell research

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 320d

No. Not unless consent was granted. You can't just use any human tissue without ethics approval and consent, it's a criminal offense.

FreeBeard@slrpnk.net · 9 pts · 321d (1 reply)

In Germany the parents get asked if they want a burial but in my case most parents decide that the hospital should handle it. It is then disposed of in a mass grave.

starlinguk@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 318d

Depends on the state. Some states require the foetus to treated as medical waste. They've recently changed that in the SW (I can't remember if it was BW or RP).

IWW4@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 321d (3 replies)

It gets disposed of like all other medical waste.

SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 321d (2 replies)

I actually dont know how other medical waste is disposed either?

Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 8 pts · 321d (1 reply)

Per the Wikipedia article on biomedical waste:

Biomedical waste is often incinerated. An efficient incinerator will destroy pathogens and sharps. Source materials are not recognizable in the resulting ash. Alternative thermal treatment can also include technologies such as gasification[13] and pyrolysis including energy recovery with similar waste volume reductions and pathogen destruction.

An autoclave may also be used to treat biomedical waste. An autoclave uses steam and pressure to sterilize the waste or reduce its microbiological load to a level at which it may be safely disposed of.

Microwave disinfection can also be employed for treatment of biomedical wastes. Microwave irradiation is a type of non-contact heating technologies for disinfection. Microwave chemistry is based on efficient heating of materials by microwave dielectric heating effects. When exposed to microwave frequencies, the dipoles of the water molecules present in cells re-align with the applied electric field. As the field oscillates, the dipoles attempts to realign itself with the alternating electric field and in this process, energy is lost in the form of heat through molecular friction and dielectric loss.

For liquids and small quantities, a 1–10% solution of bleach can be used to disinfect biomedical waste. Solutions of sodium hydroxide and other chemical disinfectants may also be used, depending on the waste's characteristics.

Sooooo, burn it, almost burn it with steam, almost burn it with radio waves, or chemically burn it.

SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 321d

Thanks.

remon@ani.social · 2 pts · 320d (1 reply)