Pro-lifers demand probe of NIH using aborted fetal tissue
A pro-life group is demanding a Senate investigation into past NIH funding of research using aborted fetal tissue after Dr. Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment when questioned about such studies.
The 40 Days for Life organization wants Congress to scrutinize government-funded studies conducted before the NIH ended such funding in January of this year. While the federal health agency announced it was halting money for research using fetal tissue from elective abortions, the pro-life group is calling for accountability over previous expenditures.
Shawn Carney, president of 40 Days for Life, penned a letter Thursday to key Senate committee leaders requesting the probe. He wrote to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Carney’s letter highlighted the organization’s concern about what it characterizes as exploitation within the abortion industry. He urged both committees to examine whether the NIH’s previous practices followed applicable laws, regulations, Congressional funding restrictions, and ethical standards expected of public health institutions.
The issue received heightened attention on July 29 when Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa confronted Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Senate hearing on COVID-19. Ernst questioned Fauci about taxpayer-funded research involving fetal tissue, asking specifically about experiments where researchers transplanted human fetal organs into mice.
In a moment that garnered significant attention on social media, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer Ernst’s questions about the practice.
Carney described in his letter how American taxpayers financed experiments involving the surgical implantation of livers, thymuses, and portions of lungs from aborted fetuses into mice. He noted that researchers themselves designated these as ‘BLT-L’ mice and described the procedure as involving a sandwich of aborted body parts.
According to NIH data, federal spending on human fetal tissue research has dropped substantially since 2018. That fiscal year saw nearly 120 million dollars allocated to such research, compared to approximately half that amount in fiscal year 2024.
The Trump administration justified ending government fetal tissue research by pointing to available alternatives. Officials argued that organoids, tissue chips, computational biology, and other advanced technological platforms have made the controversial practice unnecessary.
The administration has also implemented measures to reduce animal testing in federally funded research programs.
Representatives for Cassidy, Grassley, and the NIH did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the 40 Days for Life letter.
With information from New York Post
