Republican presidential candidate and outspoken opponent of abortion, Carly Fiorina, reportedly benefitted financially while on the board for a company producing vaccines using fetal stem cells taken from aborted fetuses, according to corporate documents obtained by Al Jazeera America.

Fiorina served on the board of directors for Merck & Co., an international pharmaceutical company, from April 1999 to December 2000, according to SEC filings for both 1999 and 2000. She was paid at least $83,000 for her two years and was eligible for an additional $1,200 for each board meeting she attended.

Fiorina has been very open when discussing her stance on abortion. During one of the first Republican debates in September, she challenged Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and everyone in America to watch a non-existent portion of the–at the time—shocking sting videos created by the Center For Medical Progress, a known anti-abortion group.

On January 25, two of the activists from the videos were indicted in Texas for issues regarding purchasing human organs and an additional charge for tampering with a government record.

Fiorina has continuously said on and off the debate stage that she wants to defund Planned Parenthood, a non-profit that provides healthcare services, including abortion, but declined to comment on whether it is worth shutting down the government for, which has been a big budgetary issue brought up by many candidates during this election cycle.

Other candidates have also discussed using fetal stem cells from aborted fetuses. Presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz R-Texas has supported the John Paul II Medical Research Institute, which conducts ALS research that “respects human life,” according to a statement made on Cruz’s Facebook page. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, during Fiorina’s 2010 run for the California Senate, she was seemingly in favor of using aborted fetal stem cells for vaccines. During a 2010 debate she clarified her stance, saying, “It is when embryos are produced for the purposes of destruction, for the purposes of stem cell research that I have a great deal of difficulty.”

It is unknown as to whether or not Fiorina was aware that aborted fetal stem cells were being used to make the vaccines, but it’ll probably be brought into the discussion on one of the stages at the next Republican debate scheduled for February 6.

Julia Bryant

Julia Bryant is an Editorial Senior Fellow at Law Street from Howard County, Maryland. She is a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Economics. You can contact Julia at JBryant@LawStreetMedia.com.

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