On January 22, 2026, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued NOT-OD-26-028, prohibiting the use of NIH funds for research involving human fetal tissue (HFT) obtained from elective abortions (the Notice).
This Notice is effective as of its publication date and supersedes certain previous NIH guidance on human fetal tissue research issued during the Biden Administration, including NOT-OD-21-111 and NOT-OD-19-128.
The Notice also signals upcoming agency actions related to human embryonic stem cells, and in a separate notice issued January 23, 2026 (NOT-OD-26-031), NIH paused new submissions to the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry. Changes to human embryonic stem cell research would represent a larger change to current practice, affecting an even greater number of scientists beyond those currently using HFT from elective abortions.
Summary
The key components of the revised NIH policy are as follows:
- Prohibition on Research Using HFT from Elective Abortions. NIH funds may not be used for research involving human fetal tissue obtained from elective abortions. This prohibition applies broadly to NIH’s Intramural Research Program and to all extramural research, including competitive applications for grants and cooperative agreements, other transaction awards, and R&D contract proposals submitted in response to solicitations issued after January 22, 2026.
- Continued Permissibility of Certain HFT Research. The above-noted prohibition on HFT research does not extend to research involving HFT obtained from miscarriage or stillbirth. Such research is permissible and remains subject to the requirements outlined in prior NIH notices, specifically NOT-OD-15-143 (reminder of legal requirements for the acquisition and use of HFT in research) and NOT-OD-16-033 (NIH policy on informed consent for HFT research).
- Impact on Currently Funded Projects. For research projects that are currently funded, organizations may rebudget released funds to support activities under the same project that are not prohibited by this policy. In other words, principal investigators with existing awards may redirect funds away from unallowable HFT research activities toward other, allowable research activities within the scope of the funded project.
The Notice observes that NIH-supported HFT research has been in decline since 2019, with only 77 projects supported in Fiscal Year 2024, and reasons that through this change, “NIH is prioritizing limited resources towards biomedical research models with more relevance to today’s rapidly evolving research ecosystem.” In a related press release, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya says that NIH will “invest[] in breakthrough technologies more capable of modeling human health and disease.” The press release also notes that “NIH will soon seek public comment on the robustness of emerging biotechnologies to reduce or potentially replace reliance on human embryonic stem cells in an effort to continue to drive modernization.”
As reported in Nature on the same day as publication of the Notice, scientists using HFT say that they choose to use material derived from elective abortions given that HFT from other sources often is not useful for study.1 Such scientists argue that this policy change will make it more difficult to study fetal development and stem-cell biology, as not all research can be done using alternative methods such as computational biology, and that it is difficult to replicate the complexity of human tissue.
Background: NIH HFT Research Restrictions
The regulation of federally funded HFT research has shifted across presidential administrations over several decades.
- 1974: National Research Act. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, Congress passed the National Research Act in 1974 (Public Law 93-348), which created a national commission to oversee research involving fetuses and placed restrictions on what types of fetal research could receive federal funding.
- 1988-1993: Reagan-Bush Moratorium. In March 1988, the Reagan Administration, through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), imposed a moratorium on federal funding for all research using HFT from induced abortions. This moratorium remained in effect through the George H.W. Bush Administration.
- 1993: Clinton Reversal. Shortly after taking office in January 1993, President Clinton signed an executive order lifting the Reagan-Bush moratorium and allowing federal funding of HFT research to resume. That same year, Congress passed the NIH Revitalization Act (Public Law 103-43, 107 Stat. 129), which codified federal funding for HFT transplantation research subject to certain conditions, including informed consent requirements and prohibitions on the sale of HFT.
- 2019: First Trump Administration Restrictions. In June 2019, the Trump Administration announced significant restrictions on fetal tissue research. HHS ended all intramural research using fetal tissue from induced abortions and required that extramural research proposals undergo additional review by an Ethics Advisory Board before funding could be approved. In 2020, the Ethics Advisory Board convened and recommended withholding funds for 13 of 14 research proposals reviewed.
- 2021: Biden Administration Reversal. In April 2021, the Biden Administration reversed the 2019 restrictions imposed by the first Trump Administration. HHS/NIH also announced that they would not convene another Ethics Advisory Board.
Implications for Grant Applicants and Current Recipients
Institutions and researchers are encouraged to take the following steps in response to this policy change:
- Review Pending and Planned Applications. Any grant applications, cooperative agreement proposals, or R&D contract proposals submitted in response to solicitations issued after January 22, 2026 should not include research activities that rely on HFT from elective abortions. Applicants should carefully review their research plans to ensure compliance with the new prohibition.
- Assess Current Awards. Recipients of existing NIH awards should evaluate whether any currently funded research activities involve HFT from elective abortions. If applicable, institutions should work with their internal sponsored programs staff and with NIH program staff to reallocate funds toward other permissible research activities for the same project.
- Maintain Compliance with Continuing Requirements. Research involving HFT from miscarriage or stillbirth remains subject to existing NIH requirements, including proper informed consent procedures and compliance with legal requirements for the acquisition and use of HFT.
- Update Institutional Policies and Training. Institutions should update internal policies, procedures, and training materials as necessary to reflect this policy change and ensure that investigators are aware of the change in policy.
Inquiries
We will continue to monitor developments in this area and provide updates as additional information becomes available.
