The decision from HHS came after discussions with anti-abortion advocates, scientists, ethicists, and patient advocates. It started in September 2018, when HHS ended a contract the Food and Drug Administration had with Advanced Bioscience Resources, Inc., after saying that it was “not sufficiently assured that contract included the appropriate protections applicable to fetal tissue research or met all other procurement requirements.”
(Kimberly Leonard – Washington Examiner) The Trump administration will block government scientists from acquiring new fetal tissue from abortions to use in medical research, a major victory for abortion opponents.
“Promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death is one of the very top priorities of President Trump’s administration,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement Wednesday that announced the change.
The decision comes after months of speculation, as well as backlash from anti-abortion groups that demanded President Trump fire the head of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, for saying that research using fetal tissue could provide useful study for treatments of devastating illnesses.
Research