The Biden administration has officially rescinded the Trump-era restrictions on federal funding of medical research involving fetal tissue.
The announcement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ends the ban on funding research that used fetal tissue from elective abortions put in place by the Trump administration in 2019.
"This notice informs the extramural research community that HHS is reversing its 2019 decision that all research applications for NIH grants and contracts proposing the use of human fetal tissue from elective abortions will be reviewed by an Ethics Advisory Board," the announcement said.
The Trump administration policy mandated that all grants involving fetal tissue from elective abortions be reviewed by an Ethics Advisory Board.
The announcement also says that the NIH will not convene another NIH Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra foreshadowed this move in a House hearing on Thursday.
"We believe that we have to do the research it takes to make sure that we are incorporating innovation and getting all of those types of treatments and therapies out there to the American people," he said at the hearing.
The move drew praise from a number of lawmakers who requested Becerra change the policy.
"During a time when our country necessitates recovery that prioritizes science over politics, this is an integral step towards protecting the advancements of our scientific community," the group of lawmakers, which includes Rep. Marc Pocan (D-WI), Suzan DelBene (D-WA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), wrote in a joint statement.