Senator Markwayne Mullin, US Senator for Oklahoma | Official U.S. Senate headshot
Senator Markwayne Mullin, US Senator for Oklahoma | Official U.S. Senate headshot
U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) has collaborated with U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and seven other Senate GOP colleagues to renew efforts to halt federal support for research using fetal tissue obtained from abortions. They have reintroduced the Protecting Life and Integrity in Research Act (S.987), which aims to prohibit federal agencies from conducting, funding, or supporting any research involving human fetal tissues acquired through induced abortion. The legislation also seeks to ban the solicitation or receipt of such tissue.
The National Institutes of Health, which allocated $53 million for human fetal tissue research in 2023, is projected to increase its spending to $55 million by 2025.
Senators advocating for this bill highlight alternatives that do not involve fetal tissue from abortions. They note that non-fetal cells were instrumental in developing treatments like insulin for diabetes and Herceptin for breast cancer. Additionally, umbilical cord blood has been used successfully to treat thousands with blood disorders, while adult stem cells have treated over one million people worldwide for various conditions including cancers and autoimmune disorders.
The proposed act would still permit the use of fetal tissue obtained following a miscarriage or stillbirth.
Joining Senators Mullin and Hyde-Smith on this initiative are Senators Jim Risch (R-ID), James Lankford (R-OK), John Kennedy (R-LA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Barrasso (R-WY), and Mike Lee (R-UT).
In parallel, U.S. Congressman Bob Onder, M.D. (R-MO) has introduced a companion measure (HR.2075) in the House of Representatives with support from Representatives Trent Kelly (R-MS), Michael Guest (R-MS), and Mike Ezell (R-MS).
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 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities have expressed their support for this legislation.
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