Hinds Today

U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), chair of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, has reintroduced the Protecting Life and Integrity in Research Act (S.987). This legislation aims to end federal support for research involving fetal tissue obtained from abortions and to outlaw trafficking of body parts from aborted fetuses.

Hyde-Smith stated, “There are ethical and scientifically valid ways to conduct fetal tissue research without relying on the body parts of aborted babies. Yet, the federal government currently spends millions of our taxpayer dollars each year funding research that uses tissue from abortions, furthering the dehumanizing practice of fetal tissue trafficking. It’s time to stop funding this inhumane practice that is an affront to the sanctity of life.”

The National Institutes of Health spent $53 million on human fetal tissue research in 2023 and anticipates spending $55 million in 2025.

Hyde-Smith highlighted alternatives to abortion-based research, noting that non-fetal cells were used for developing insulin for diabetes and Herceptin for breast cancer. Additionally, umbilical cord blood has treated thousands with blood disorders, while adult stem cells have saved over a million lives worldwide by treating various diseases.

The proposed act would still allow the use of fetal tissue obtained after miscarriages or stillbirths.

Original cosponsors of S.987 include U.S. Senators James Risch (R-Idaho), James Lankford (R-Okla.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Barrasso, M.D. (R-Wyo.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah).

In parallel, U.S. Congressman Bob Onder, M.D. (R-Mo.) introduced a companion measure (HR.2075) in the House with cosponsors U.S. Representatives Trent Kelly (R-Miss.), Michael Guest (R-Miss.), and Mike Ezell (R-Miss.). Onder remarked, “The creation of a taxpayer-funded marketplace for babies lost to abortion is a monstrous, barbaric practice from the start. Every baby, even those lost to abortion, deserves to be treated with human decency and respect – not like science experiments.”

The legislation is supported by organizations such as Americans United for Life, Catholic Vote, Concerned Women for America LAC, March for Life Action, Students for Life Action, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.