Pro-lifers keep up pressure on Collins at NIH

Pro-lifers continue to call for the Trump administration to fire the director of the National Institutes of Health.

Francis Collins, best known for his groundbreaking work on the Human Genome Project, was nominated for NIH Director in 2009 by then-President Barack Obama and has led the agency since. But he has angered pro-life activists over fetal tissue research.

"It's really important to understand the National Institutes of Health has designated over $100 million to research on fetal tissue parts, which is essentially aborted baby bodies," says Alison Centofante of Live Action, one of several groups calling for Francis Collins to be fired.

A Dec. 19 story at National Review reports Live Action, March for Life, and Family Research Council are among the groups calling for Collins to be replaced.

Collins claims the work can be done ethically but that is a false claim, Centofante tells OneNewsNow, because there is no such thing as ethnical experimentation on aborted babies.

"We don't think [Collins] lines up with the pro-life administration that Donald Trump has said he would run," she insists. "These babies should be mourned, not experimented on."

The NRO story quotes Collins suggesting recently that there is "strong evidence" of scientific benefits from fetal tissue research. 

Meanwhile, the Dept. of Human Services announced in September it is conducting a "comprehensive review" of fetal tissue research, and the Trump administration has halted purchases of fetal tissue at the FDA and NIH during the review, the story reported.