Washington D.C., Dec 17, 2018 / 14:53 pm
A pro-life group dedicated to electing pro-life officials is calling on U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration to "correct" comments supportive of fetal tissue sales and research, recently made by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins.
At a meeting of an NIH advisory panel in Maryland on Dec. 13, Collins said that while fetal tissue sales are currently being audited by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and alternatives to fetal tissue are being explored, fetal tissue "will continue to be the mainstay" of federal scientific research.
"There is strong evidence that scientific benefits can come from fetal tissue research, which can be done with an ethical framework," he added.
His comments come at a time when HHS, the parent agency of NIH, has terminated contracts with groups over their use of fetal stem cell tissue, has declined new contracts with other groups over the same, is auditing the use of fetal stem cell tissue throughout the department, and is exploring alternatives to the use of fetal tissue research.