U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

01/23/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/23/2026 16:58

WTAS: HHS Bars Research Using Human Fetal Tissue from Elective Abortions and Other Departmental Actions

On January 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ended the permitted use of human fetal tissue from elective abortion in agency-funded research. The new policy advances the Trump Administration's priorities to uphold the sanctity of human life and modernize biomedical science. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s directive applies consistent restrictions to grants, contracts, and programs administered across HHS.

Secretary Kennedy's announcement on the day of the National March for Life follows the HHS Office for Civil Rights' actions this week to safeguard federal health care provider conscience rights and protect the dignity of human life. On December 9, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requested that the Maryland Insurance Administration cancel implementation of the Maryland Public Health Abortion Grant Program to ensure full compliance with federal law.

Additionally, the Administration for Children and Families' Office of Refugee Resettlement proposes to revise the Biden-era Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule, which codified policies guaranteeing abortion on demand for unaccompanied alien children, to bring the program into compliance with the Hyde Amendment that prevents federal funding of elective abortion.

Headlines
Members of Congress
Advocates and Organizations
Influencers

Headlines:

Members of Congress:

  • Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith via X: "The National Institutes of Health's decision to end the use of human fetal tissue in federally-supported research is a welcome policy shift that aligns scientific advancement with our values. I've introduced legislation to ensure this standard is upheld across the federal government. It reflects a clear recognition that medical progress can continue through innovative, ethical research methods without affronting respect for human life."
  • Sen. James Lankford via X: "Thank you to @NIHDirector_Jay for your leadership in ending the NIH practice of using human fetal tissue for research. I have called for this for years, and am grateful for this change. This is great news ahead of the March for Life!"
  • Rep. Mike Haridopolos via X: "Advancing innovation while raising standards in research"

Advocates & Organizations:

  • MAHA Action via X: "Two MAJOR MAHA wins today. 1. The NIH announced it will finally end federal funding for research using aborted fetal tissue. This unethical and outdated research practice has been defended for decades. With modern alternatives now available, it is finally being phased out. . ."
  • MAHA Institute via X: "The NIH announced that it will immediately end funding used to support research involving human fetal tissue from elective abortions... The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Illinois violated the Weldon and the Coats-Snowe Amendments by requiring health care providers to refer patients for abortion. As a result, state authorities were notified regarding a conscience protection violation, and HHS is threatening to withhold funding over it."
  • Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser via The Washington Examiner: "All of these things are fantastic news...Let there be no question about how positive we think that is in a pro-life administration."
  • Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins via X: "BREAKING: At White House right now and it's been announced the NIH has ended all research funding of studies using the broken bodies of aborted babies. Thank you @NIHDirector_Jay!"
  • CatholicVote Director of Government Affairs Tom McClusky via press release: "A few years ago, abortion giant Planned Parenthood and their co-conspirators were caught selling baby body parts scavenged from abortions. What you might not have known is that the federal government contributed to this atrocity by funding such 'research.' The Trump administration deserves high praise for recognizing every human being deserves dignity, born and unborn, in life as in death."
  • Heritage Foundation Vice President and former Director of HHS' Office for Civil Rights, Roger Severino via X: "Big news! States can no longer force conscientious doctors to participate in the machinery of abortion. Great work from @SecKennedy, Paula Stannard and the leadership at HHS OCR."
  • Heritage Foundation Vice President and former Director of HHS' Office for Civil Rights, Roger Severino via X: "No more federal funding for research that, quite literally, procures and uses aborted baby body parts. Congratulations to @DrJBhattacharya for taking this decisive action to protect the sanctity of life."
  • Family Research Council President Tony Perkins via X: ".@HHSgov found Illinois in violation of federal healthcare conscience statutes today. @HHSOCR Director Paula Stannard explains. 'Illinois statute says that in order to have a protection... [doctors] have to, in fact, refer for the very health service they object to.'
  • Family Research Council President Tony Perkins via The Washington Stand: "What HHS is doing 'is protecting the rights of health care workers - their conscience rights - so they're not forced to do something that they find morally reprehensible.'"
  • Children's Health Defense via X: "BREAKING: Effective immediately, @NIH funds will no longer be used to support research involving human fetal tissue from elective abortions."
  • Thomas Moore Society Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation, Peter Breen via press release: "The Land of Lincoln's Health Care Right of Conscience Act was meant to safeguard moral and religious freedom in healthcare...Illinois turned it on its head, weaponizing it to punish pro-life medical professionals and pregnancy centers...HHS has now confirmed that gutting precious conscience protections violates federal law, and the financial consequences for the state could be significant if they continue to trample conscience rights."
  • National Right to Life President Carol Tobias via press release: "OCR's action sends a clear message that no state may coerce health care professionals into violating their conscience as the price of practicing medicine. Federal law has long protected doctors, nurses, hospitals, and medical institutions from being forced to participate in abortion. HHS is right to enforce those protections and hold states accountable when they ignore them. These deregulatory steps correct years of legal overreach that distorted conscience laws and treated abortion as an entitlement rather than a grave moral issue. By restoring the law to its proper meaning, HHS is protecting both conscience rights and respect for human life. Respect for conscience and respect for life are inseparable. We commend HHS for enforcing the law as written and for standing up for the rights of health care professionals who should never be forced to choose between their careers and their moral convictions."
  • Alliance Defending Freedom [ADF] Senior Counsel and vice president of the ADF Center for Life and Regulatory Practice Erin Hawley via press release: "The U.S. Supreme Court held in NIFLA v. Becerra that forcing people to promote abortion is unconstitutional. We applaud HHS' determination that pro-life pregnancy centers must be free to continue their life-affirming work without fear of government punishment."

Influencers:

  • Charmaine Yoest (@CharmaineYoest), Executive Director of House Value Action Team via X: "Head of NIH @DrJBhattacharya announcing the USgovt will no longer use aborted human fetal tissue in research. Huge step forward for ethical and most effective scientific research."
  • The Ben Shapiro Show (@BenShapiroShow) via X: "Ahead of the March For Life, the NIH has officially banned the use of aborted human fetal tissue for research. @DrJBhattacharya joined us today on the show to discuss this change."
  • Resist the Mainstream (@resistthems) via X: "JUST IN: The NIH puts a stop to taxpayer funding for research that uses aborted baby tissue."
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services published this content on January 23, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on January 23, 2026 at 22:58 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]