The Trump administration on Wednesday said it would end scientific research at the National Institutes of Health that relies on fetal tissue from elective abortions, and would accelerate efforts to find alternatives for such research, a move welcomed by anti-abortion groups.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Trump administration on Wednesday said it would end scientific research at the National Institutes of Health that relies on fetal tissue from elective abortions, and would accelerate efforts to find alternatives for such research, a move welcomed by anti-abortion groups.
Scientists say fetal tissue is critical for research into many complex diseases, including HIV, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services also said on Wednesday it ended a $2 million-a-year contract with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), that involved the use of fetal tissue. In September, the agency ended a contract between Advanced Bioscience Resources Inc and the Food and Drug Administration, that used fetal tissue to develop testing protocols.
There are 200 external government-funded projects that use fetal tissue that will not be affected by the decision, an HHS spokeswoman said.
