HHS Bars Research Using Human Fetal Tissue from Elective Abortions

WASHINGTON — January 23, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today 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.

“HHS is ending the use of human fetal tissue from elective abortions in agency-funded research and replacing it with gold-standard science,” Secretary Kennedy said. “The science supports this shift, the ethics demand it, and we will apply this standard consistently across the Department.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which distributes most HHS medical research funding, is applying this policy across the NIH Intramural Research Program and all NIH-supported extramural research, including grants, cooperative agreements, other transaction awards, and research and development contracts. This action supersedes prior NIH guidance and reflects a shift toward validated research models better suited to today’s rapidly evolving scientific landscape, which includes advances in organoids, tissue chips, computational biology, and other cutting-edge platforms.

“NIH is pushing American biomedical science into the 21st century,” said NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya. “This decision is about advancing science by investing in breakthrough technologies more capable of modeling human health and disease. Under President Trump’s leadership, taxpayer-funded research must reflect the best science of today and the values of the American people.”

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 plans to revise the Biden-era Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule to bring the program into compliance with the Hyde Amendment regarding funding or facilitation of abortion for unaccompanied alien minors in federal care.