Pro-life group urges Senate probes into NIH fetal tissue research before funding ban
The anti-abortion organization 40 Days for Life has asked Senate committees to examine NIH studies that used fetal organs and tissue before a new funding restriction took effect.
Shawn Carney, president of the anti-abortion group 40 Days for Life, wrote to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, urging them to investigate whether NIH research using fetal organs and tissue complied with applicable laws and funding rules. The appeal references NIH’s January decision to stop new grants for studies that rely on fetal tissue from elective abortions, but seeks scrutiny of projects conducted before that policy change.
The call echoes Sen. Joni Ernst’s recent Senate hearing where she confronted Dr. Anthony Fauci about taxpayer-funded experiments that implanted parts of five-month-old aborted babies into mice, described by researchers as “BLT-L” mice. According to NIH figures, federal spending on human fetal tissue research dropped from nearly $120 million in fiscal 2018 to about half that level by fiscal 2024. The Trump administration had previously ended such funding, citing alternatives like organoids and tissue chips. Representatives for Grassley, Cassidy, and the NIH have not responded to requests for comment.
Why it matters
The request could trigger a Senate review of federal research practices and funding compliance.
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