--- ---  # Ben Carson Used Fetal Tissue in Medical Research  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Aug 13, 2015 4:46 PM UTC  Ben Carson speaks at the Freedom Summit in Greenville, S.C., on May 9, 2015. Ben Carson speaks at the Freedom Summit in Greenville, S.C., on May 9, 2015.Rainier Ehrhardt—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Aug 13, 2015 4:46 PM UTC Ben Carson, the neurosurgeon and Republican presidential candidate who has condemned Planned Parenthood’s donations of fetal tissue, once carried out research on tissue from aborted fetuses. Jen Gunter, an OB/GYN and science writer, [put on her blog](https://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/ben-carson-did-research-on-17-week-fetal-tissue/) Wednesday night a study co-authored by Carson in 1992 that used tissue from two fetuses aborted at nine and seventeen weeks, according to the paper. But in the wake of [hidden-camera videos](http://time.com/3966149/video-planned-parenthood-fetal-tissue/) alleging that Planned Parenthood illegally sold fetal tissue to researchers, Carson [told CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/28/politics/ben-carson-planned-parenthood/) that the organization “doesn’t seem to understand the sanctity of human life and is willing to destroy that” and “virtually everything that can be attributed to progress by using fetal tissue can also use other types of tissue.” Carson denies any contradiction between his stance on Planned Parenthood and his former research. He [told Buzzfeed](http://www.buzzfeed.com/virginiahughes/ben-carson-used-fetal-tissue), “Killing babies and harvesting tissue for sale is very different than taking a dead specimen and keeping a record of it, which is exactly the source of the tissue used in our research.” Planned Parenthood [admitted donating fetal tissue to researchers](http://time.com/3966149/video-planned-parenthood-fetal-tissue/) but has denied seeking payment beyond legal reimbursement for its costs. Ben Carson Has Done Research on Fetal Tissue ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3996458/ben-carson-fetal-tissue/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3996458/ben-carson-fetal-tissue/"},"headline":"Ben Carson Used Fetal Tissue in Medical Research","datePublished":"2015-08-13T16:46:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:09:33.549Z","description":"Despite condemning Planned Parenthood for donating it for research","url":"https://time.com/3996458/ben-carson-fetal-tissue/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","Planned Parenthood","Dr. Benjamin S. Carson"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2dd7497f6a1a0456/69885e1b8e0601e30c461b8d/meet-the-candidates-ben-carson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2dd7497f6a1a0456/69885e1b8e0601e30c461b8d/meet-the-candidates-ben-carson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ben Carson","caption":"Ben Carson","creditText":"Rainier Ehrhardt—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3996458/ben-carson-fetal-tissue/","name":"Ben Carson Used Fetal Tissue in Medical Research"}}]}] ```