NIH says it will end funding for research using human fetal tissue

The National Institutes of Health said on Thursday it is ending support for all research that makes use of human fetal tissue, eliminating funding for projects both inside and outside the agency. The agency said the new ban terminates support for all “grants, cooperative agreements, other transaction awards and research and development contracts,” adding, “N.I.H.

will no longer support research using human fetal tissue.” A prohibition instituted in June 2019 by the first Trump administration had previously ended most NIH research and led to rejection of many external grant proposals; that ban was lifted in 2021 by President Biden, restoring funding for work using tissue from elective abortions.

The N.I.H. noted that research it supported using fetal tissue has been declining since 2019, reporting $53 million for 77 projects in fiscal 2024, down from a high of $115 million in 2018. The agency and other scientists have said fetal tissue has been used to study cancer, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, birth defects and other disorders, to test new treatments and to develop vaccines, and to create so-called humanized mice for infections such as H.I.V.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the N.I.H. director, said the agency will look to make additional investments in “alternative, validated models” and emerging biotechnologies—including computer and mathematical modeling and organoids—that could “reduce or potentially replace reliance on human embryonic stem cells,” and added, “N.I.H.

Key Topics

Health, Jay Bhattacharya, Human Fetal Tissue, Organoids, Humanized Mice, Operation Warp Speed