Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, said on Thursday that he will stop federal funding from going to National Institutes of Health (NIH) research using the body parts of aborted babies.
During round two of Kennedy’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked Kennedy if he would reinstate a 2019 HHS policy from President Donald Trump’s first term barring providing taxpayer funding for NIH research programs that use human fetal tissue derived from the body parts of aborted babies. The rabidly pro-abortion Biden-Harris administration reversed Trump’s policy in 2021. Hawley said:
Under the first Trump presidency, HHS stopped new NIH research that involved human fetal tissue from elective abortions. Now you were asked about this sort of tangentially yesterday by Sen. [Maria] Cantwell (D-WA), and I want to get your quote right. You said to her…,‘Stem cell research today can be done on umbilical cords, and you don’t need any fetal tissue,’ which is correct.
“My question to you is, will you reinstate President Trump’s policy that ensures that no federal research and no federal tax dollars is conducted on fetal tissue taken from elective abortions?” he continued.
“Yes,” Kennedy answered.
The line of questioning came after Sen. Cantwell asked Kennedy on Wednesday if he would “commit to protecting stem cell research for scientific agencies if confirmed.”
“I will protect stem cell research. Stem cell research today can be done on umbilical cords and you don’t need fetal tissue,” he replied.
READ MORE – ‘American Horror Story’: Feds Pay for Full-Term Aborted Baby Parts
On Wednesday, Kennedy also pledged to support Trump’s pro-life policies and study the safety of the abortion pill.
“I’m going to support President Trump’s policies on Title X,” Kennedy said, referencing a rule from Trump’s first term forbidding taxpayer funds from the Title X family planning grant from being used to support abortion in any way.
“I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year,” Kennedy continued. “I agree with him that the states should control abortion. President Trump has told me that he wants to end late-term abortions, and he wants to protect conscious exemptions, and that he wants to end federal funding for abortions here and abroad. That’s title X. I serve at the pleasure of the president — I’m going to implement his policies.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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