Rep. Mike Kelly Leads 50+ Members of Congress Demanding Transparency of NIH-funded abortion allegations

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), members of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, led more than 50 of their House colleagues in calling for transparency and accountability into the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after recent allegation that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center used taxpayer money funneled through the NIH to promote illegal abortions. This letter follows work done in the Pennsylvania State House by State Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-Warren/Crawford/Forest) and others looking into the allegations through letters and oversight hearings. 

For decades, Congress has provided federal funding for lifesaving medical research through the NIH. This support has been bipartisan and has been guided by pro-life principles which require that no federal taxpayer dollars shall be used for abortion procedures. This makes the recent allegations that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center may have used federal dollars while seeking to alter abortion procedures for the purpose of obtaining fetal tissue highly alarming. 

“At no point should taxpayer money be used to promote or fund abortions. My colleagues and I are deeply troubled by NIH’s lack of a transparent and ethical review of their funding processes,” Kelly said. “I want to thank U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith and my fellow House members, along with Pennsylvania State Rep. Kathy Rapp, for their tireless support of such an important issue. We hope to clarify how taxpayer money is being spent. I will vigorously continue my work of protecting the unborn.”

These revelations come after President Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced an April 16, 2021 policy change reversing its 2019 decision that all extramural research applications for NIH grants and contracts proposing the use of human fetal tissue from elective abortions will be reviewed by an Ethics Advisory Board (EAB).

Because these allegations potentially represent a violation of federal law, Kelly, Griffith, and their colleagues are calling on NIH and HHS to provide the following: 
-    A detailed written description of NIH’s current ethical vetting and review procedures
-    Documents related to the University of Pittsburgh allegation
-    Documents related to any other fetal tissue research NIH supports, along with a list of institutions which perform such research
You can read their full letter here.
 

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