An anti-abortion organization is calling for a Senate investigation into the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) funding of research that utilized fetal organs and tissue. The group, 40 Days for Life, wants a probe into government-funded studies conducted before the NIH announced in January that it would stop funding research using fetal tissue from elective abortions.
In a letter, 40 Days for Life president Shawn Carney urged Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to initiate the inquiry. Carney stated that the organization has a direct perspective on the harm abortion causes and expressed concerns about the "exploitation of aborted baby body parts and tissues" within the abortion industry.
Carney's letter asked the committees to investigate whether the NIH's practices adhered to all applicable laws, regulations, congressional funding restrictions, and ethical requirements. "We respectfully urge your committees to investigate whether NIH’s practices complied with the laws, regulations, Congressional funding restrictions, and ethical requirements expected of our nation’s public health institutions," he wrote.
The request follows a viral exchange in July where Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) questioned Dr. Anthony Fauci about taxpayer-funded research involving fetal parts. Ernst described experiments where human fetal organs and tissue were implanted into mice, a practice she characterized as using "a sandwich of aborted body parts."
According to agency data, NIH spending on human fetal tissue research has decreased significantly in recent years. Spending fell from nearly $120 million in fiscal year 2018 to approximately half that amount in fiscal year 2024. The Trump administration had previously ended NIH funding for research relying on fetal parts, arguing that alternatives like organoids and computational biology had rendered the practice unnecessary.
Representatives for Senators Cassidy, Grassley, and the NIH did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the 40 Days for Life letter.