WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, pledged to reinstate the first Trump administration’s ban on federal research with tissue from babies killed in elective abortions.
Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri asked Kennedy during his Senate confirmation hearing, “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?”
“Yes,” he responded.
ABOUT TIME! | @RobertKennedyJr vows to end @NIH funding for research using aborted fetal tissue. @HawleyMO pic.twitter.com/GbYaZtfCRA
— LifeSiteNews (@LifeSite) January 30, 2025
Kennedy also affirmed during the hearing that stem cell research with the tissue of unborn children is “unnecessary.”
Asked whether he would “commit to protecting stem cell research for scientific agencies if confirmed,” Kennedy replied that he would, but added, “Stem cell research today can be done on umbilical cords, and you don’t need fetal tissue.”
BREAKING
RFK says fetal stem research unnecessary during confirmation hearing
Sen. Cantwell: Yes or No? Do you commit to protecting stem cell research for scientific agencies if confirmed?
RFK: I will protect stem cell research. Stem cell research today can be done on… pic.twitter.com/4KoATF2IPg
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) January 30, 2025
Stem cells, which can be derived from adult bodies, are considered extremely valuable for scientific research because of their ability to develop into many different kinds of cells.
The Catholic Church opposes embryonic stem cell research, however, since it uses embryos deliberately killed through abortion or embryos created as a result of in vitro fertilization (IVF), which is immoral on several levels and destroys or indefinitely freezes most of the human beings that it creates. The Church also condemns the use of stem cells of unborn babies at any stage, including babies who were aborted.
READ: U.S. taxpayers have spent $280 million on fetal tissue research
In recent decades, blood from pregnant women’s umbilical cords has been shown to contain stem cells that have the advantage of versatility for life-saving stem cell transplantation, because cord blood can benefit new hosts even if they are not fully matched.
While Kennedy has declared many times, including during his Senate confirmation hearing, that “that every abortion is a tragedy,” he has, in fact, historically been firmly pro-abortion while attempting to distinguish between his “personal” views on abortion and his belief about whether it should be legal.
When he ran as an independent presidential candidate in 2024, he said he would sign a federal law codifying a nationwide “right” to abortion, and in May he went so far as to declare that he believes women should be able to kill even late-term babies through abortion.
However, during his Senate confirmation, Kennedy expressed a firm commitment to defer to President Trump and his desired abortion policy.