The Trump administration said Thursday that human fetal tissue derived from abortions can no longer be used in research funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The policy, which NIH said it will apply to all NIH-funded research, expands restrictions imposed during Donald Trump’s first term, restrictions that were later lifted by the Biden administration.
The federal government has funded research using fetal tissue for decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the AP reported. The tissue is described as material that would otherwise be thrown away and has been cited as critical for certain research, including ways to fight HIV and cancer.
Opponents of fetal tissue use have argued that alternatives are now available. Many scientists, however, say adequate substitutes aren’t always available for some kinds of research, according to the AP report.
In a statement Thursday, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya acknowledged that the agency “has long maintained policies governing the responsible and limited use of human fetal tissue in biomedical research.”
The AP said NIH documented that fetal tissue use has declined since 2019, and that the agency counted 77 projects funded in 2024 that included fetal tissue.
During Trump’s first term, the AP said, the administration ended the use of fetal tissue on NIH’s campus and created additional hurdles for non-government scientists seeking NIH funding. The new announcement, the AP reported, removes the prior limits and applies the restrictions across all NIH-funded research.
The administration’s policy does not end the use of certain fetal-derived materials, NIH documents say. The AP reported that NIH documents state the change does not end the use of “cell lines” created years ago from fetal cells—cloned copies of cells adapted to grow continuously in laboratories.
Bhattacharya said NIH will soon seek comment on potential ways “to reduce or potentially replace reliance on human embryonic stem cells,” the AP reported.