Trump administration limits funding for fetal tissue medical research

The Trump administration issued another anti-choice policy on Wednesday, limiting federal funding for medical research that involves fetal tissue and canceling a multimillion-dollar contract for a lab that’s using the tissue to combat HIV/AIDS.   

The new policy will prohibit federal scientists who work at the National Institutes of Health from obtaining new fetal tissue samples, which are procured from elective abortions. In the past, such samples have been crucial for breakthroughs in combating diseases like AIDS, cancers, and ZIKA, as well as vaccines and treatments for diseases like Parkinson’s. It is unclear how many projects will be affected by the restrictions; Researchers at universities who hope to renew NIH grants or apply for new ones involving fetal will have their application reviewed by an ethics advisory board, the agency told NPR.

Anti-choice proponents heralded the move as a first step towards the complete prohibition of the use of fetal tissue in scientific research. In a statement released on June 5, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated that "promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death is one of the very top priorities of President Trump's administration." Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion-rights group Susan B. Anthony List, added that, "this is a major pro-life victory and we thank President Trump for taking decisive action."

Meanwhile, scientists expressed outrage and frustration at the news. “I think it’s ultimately a terrible, nonsensical policy,” said Larry Goldstein, distinguished professor in the University of California at San Diego’s department of cellular and molecular medicine, in an interview with NPR. “Valuable research that is directed at helping to develop therapies for terrible diseases will be stopped. And tissue that would be used will be thrown out instead.”

Most immediately affected by the new policy was a lab at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), which had relied solely on government funding to research potential HIV therapies using mice with humanized immune systems. The lab, which had a multiyear, $2 million contract with the NIH, learned that it had been terminated for unspecified reasons, according to the Washington Post.

Reached for comment by NPR, UCSF called the decision to cancel the contract “abrupt” and stressed that the university “exercised appropriate oversight and complied with all state and federal laws. We believe this decision to be politically motivated, shortsighted and not based on sound science.”

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Washington Post, said that Vice President Pence had played a central role in developing the policy. The decision comes amidst a renewed attack on reproductive rights, including the passage of anti-abortion legislation in states across the country.

Equality Forward, a watchdog group that promotes reproductive rights, told Al Jazeera that the Trump administration’s agenda was putting lives at risk.

"HHS Secretary Alex Azar is putting millions of dollars in lifesaving research at risk to please a small group of anti-abortion extremists," Equality Forward senior adviser Mary Alice Carter said in a statement. "This decision will derail scientific advancements that could lead to cures for diseases like Alzheimer's and HIV."