A front page story in the Chicago Tribune on July 7 reported that the Bush Administration “quietly in late May” approved “the first federally funded project using stem cells obtained from fetuses aborted up to eight weeks after conception.” The story created the impression that President Bush had some authority to prevent this particular use of federal funds.

In fact, this is not true. Federal funding of transplantation research using fetal tissue is governed by an act of Congress enacted in 1993. Such funding was opposed by both the administrations of Presidents Reagan and G. H. W. Bush. President Bush actually had to veto an entire NIH reauthorization bill in 1992 to prevent this pro-life policy from being overturned. However, the NIH reauthorization bill enacted by Congress in 1993 explicitly removed authority from the President and his appointees to block transplantation research using fetal tissue from induced abortions and was signed into law by President Clinton.

Under the law, fetal tissue from abortions is different from the stem cell issue addressed by President Bush on August 9, 2001 when he announced that he would not allow federal funding of any research on stem cells obtained by killing human embryos after that date. Since enactment of the 1993 law, NIH has funded many experiments involving fetal tissue from induced abortions. The only thing new about the project reported in the Tribune is that it involves stem cells, but it is still covered by the 1993 law.

An attempt was made in 1997 to reverse the situation and prohibit the use of fetal tissue from induced abortions. It failed on a 38-60 vote in the Senate. Both Virginia Senators (John Warner and Chuck Robb) voted against the prohibition.

Published in VSHL Lifesaver, August 2002