The NIH under the Biden administration funded dozens of studies that involved research on animals using human tissue from aborted fetuses, a new investigation claims.
An investigation by the group White Coat Waste Project (WCW), which calls itself a ‘bipartisan government watchdog,’ found 17 active NIH-funded grants to US and international labs that supported studies using human fetal tissue.
The grants total about $21.7million.
Many of the projects were started in 2024 under the Biden administration and are scheduled to continue through 2026.
However, following the investigation, the NIH said the grants would not be renewed further.
Since 2019, WCW has uncovered multiple NIH-funded experiments that implanted scalps, fingers, skin, organs and other body parts from aborted fetuses into lab animals to research diseases like HIV, Parkinson’s and rare genetic conditions.
While some of these experiments had their funds revoked, the most recent WCW investigation found there were still 17 ongoing.
Anthony Bellotti, founder and president of WCW, said in a statement: ‘For years, White Coat Waste has been fighting to ensure taxpayers aren’t forced to foot the bill for nightmarish NIH experiments that crudely implant fingers, scalps, and other human fetus parts into animals.’
The above shows some of the grants classified as ‘Human Fetal Tissue’ funded by the NIH
‘Thanks to our newest investigation exposing active Biden-era funding for these sickening animal experiments—and to swift action from the Trump administration—they won’t be.’
The current projects are under the NIH spending category ‘Human Fetal Tissue’ and include an HIV-related experiment that details implanting human fetal tissue into mice.
Another experiment used human fetal liver, thymus and tissues from Advanced Bioscience Resources (ABR), a biotech company that provides lab research services.
Many of the experiments were used to create ‘BLT mice,’ rodents implanted with pieces of bone marrow, liver and thymus from aborted fetuses, the WCW reported. It is unclear what the purpose of this is.
While the NIH grants do not specify where the tissue was harvested from, whether fetuses that were aborted or stillborn, the federal government had previously canceled a contract with ABR because it collected human fetal tissue from elective abortion procedures, Columbia Law School said in a press release.
In response to the claims made by WCW, the NIH said in a statement to Breitbart News last week: ‘NIH takes this issue very seriously and remains committed to the highest ethical standards in research. The referenced grants, initiated under the Biden administration, will not be renewed.
‘NIH is guided by a commitment to valuing human life and ensuring that federally funded research is conducted responsibly and transparently. We are actively reviewing these matters and will take all necessary steps to ensure our policies reflect that commitment.’
A spokesperson for the NIH told Daily Mail: ‘Under the Biden administration, NIH funded research involving human fetal tissue. HHS is currently reviewing this area.’
The above was uncovered by the White Coat Waste Project. The organization said it exposed how NIH-funded experiments implanted fingers from 18-week-old human fetuses into the backs of 5-day-old mice. It is unclear what the purpose of this is
In 2019, during President Donald Trump’s first term, he banned new funding for research using fetal tissue and ended NIH research using the body parts of aborted fetuses.
While the policy change didn’t cancel existing projects, it was associated with a 50 percent decline in NIH spending on fetal tissue, White Coat Waste reported.
However, in 2021, when President Joe Biden was in office, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the reversal of that policy.
When Trump was reelected for his second term, HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr pledged to once again ban the research.
While many express their outrage over the moral implications of using fetal tissue or aborted fetal tissue, scientists from multiple institutions stress the importance of the studies using this material that research diseases such as Zika, HIV and brain disorders.
The International Society for Stem Cell Research said it is ‘concerned abut a recent statement attributed to NIH that the agency will not renew research grants involving human fetal tissue (HFT).’
ISSCR President Hideyuki Okano added: ‘Research with HFT and HFT-derived cell lines has been a cornerstone of biomedical progress since the 1930s.
‘For decades, this work has been conducted with bipartisan congressional support under both Republican and Democratic administrations in the US.
‘HFT is an invaluable tool for advancing our understanding of human development, infertility, and diseases like diabetes, Zika virus, HIV, and neurodegenerative disorders.’
In 2019, during President Donald Trump’s first term, he banned new funding for research using fetal tissue. However, in 2021, when President Joe Biden was in office, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the reversal of that policy
One project listed under the NIH category ‘Human Fetal Tissue’ receiving $755,000 is investigating childhood rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a rare, aggressive cancer of cells found in soft tissue.
Another, receiving $1.4million is investigating multiple sclerosis, an incurable debilitating neurodegenerative disease.
With funding of $430,000, another project is researching Parkinson’s disease, another incurable debilitating neurodegenerative disease.
Other grants include those for research on HIV, brain tumors, rare genetic disorders and cognitive function.
The NIH’s current policy on research related to human fetal tissue defines human fetal tissue as the ’tissue or cells obtained from a dead human embryo or fetus after a spontaneous or induced abortion or stillbirth.’
The above was discovered and published by White Coat Waste Project. It shows research plans to implant pieces of human fetal lungs and thymus glands into mice
It states: ‘Current federal laws and regulations require informed consent for research involving the transplantation of human fetal tissue and for research with human fetal material associated with information that can identify a living individual.
‘Most states require informed consent for the use of fetal tissue in research. Accordingly, NIH expects informed consent to have been obtained from the donor for any NIH-funded research using human fetal tissue.’
The agency also outlines details specific to non-transplantation research on human fetal tissue from elective abortions.
The NIH states it ‘requires additional documentation of the use of [human fetal tissue] from elective abortions in research, as NIH does with other research materials and models, to ensure that it is utilized for research only when scientifically justifiable, and in the least amount possible to achieve the scientific outcomes.’
