Director of the National Institutes of Health Jay Bhattacharya, joined by President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., delivers remarks during an announcement by President Donald Trump on “significant medical and scientific findings for America’s children” in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Sept. 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)
By Samantha Chang January 23, 2026 at 7:16am
President Donald Trump ended the use of human fetal tissue harvested from abortions in research done by the National Institutes of Health.
“NIH will no longer support research using human fetal tissue,” the agency announced in a statement Thursday.
Human fetal tissues include organs, cells, and body parts culled from an aborted baby.
The new policy applies to all internal NIH research, as well as all agency-supported outside research, including grants and development contracts.
NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya said the change reflects the agency’s commitment to ensuring that research supported by taxpayers is “ethically sound” as well as scientifically rigorous.
🚨BREAKING: Newly released FOIA documents confirm the existence of a federal law enforcement investigation of an NIH-funded program at the University of Pittsburgh that harvested fetal kidneys from late-term abortions performed by Planned Parenthood doctors. @PPFA @PittTweet @NIH… pic.twitter.com/g3QgiZNDYt
— Center for Medical Progress (@CtrMedProgress) December 12, 2023
As it is, NIH-funded studies using aborted fetal tissue have plunged since 2019, suggesting it’s not as necessary as abortion proponents claim.
Cutting-edge scientific advances are also obviating the need to rely on antiquated technologies that use aborted babies’ tissue for research, the agency said.
“NIH supported research using human fetal tissue has been in decline since 2019, with only 77 projects supported in Fiscal Year 2024,” the agency said.
Judicial Watch uncovered some of the most disturbing records ever seen: federal funding for the purchase and use of fetal remains, paid for with your tax dollars. Records describe organs, skulls, and skin taken from aborted unborn babies. @TomFitton pic.twitter.com/mIo2RqBh30
— Judicial Watch ⚖️ (@JudicialWatch) January 22, 2026
For reference, the agency has funded studies using human fetal tissue since the 1950s.
Opponents of the controversial practice argue that commoditizing abortions by harvesting the tissue of dead babies devalues human life.
🚨Fauci’s NIAID funded WHAT?!…
BOEBERT: “Implant aborted baby parts into lab animals? Have you heard of that sort of research?”
GOODMAN: “We did an analysis showing that over 90% of experiments using human fetal tissue & putting them in animals were funded by Fauci’s NIAID.” pic.twitter.com/DPq1bnV9gI
— Valerie Anne Smith (@ValerieAnne1970) January 12, 2026
There’s also concern that incentivizing a “marketplace” for fetal tissue could expand abortion practices or prop up the abortion industry.
Finally, opponents note that fetal tissue research is outdated because effective — and, in some cases, superior — alternatives exist, such as using adult stem cells.
On Thursday, President Trump commemorated “National Sanctity of Human Life Day,” an observance initiated by Ronald Reagan in 1984.
“Today, we uphold the eternal truth that every human being is created in the holy image and likeness of God, blessed with infinite worth and boundless potential,” Trump said.
“As President, I pledge to always be a voice for the voiceless and to never tire in fighting to protect the intrinsic dignity of every child, born and unborn,” he vowed.
Samantha Chang is a financial editor and political commentator in NYC.
Samantha Chang is a politics writer, lawyer and financial editor based in NYC.
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