{"id":1544035,"date":"2022-07-08T07:50:49","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T11:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1544035"},"modified":"2022-07-08T07:50:57","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T11:50:57","slug":"pitts-infamous-experimentation-on-aborted-babies-takes-center-stage-in-state-funding-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pitts-infamous-experimentation-on-aborted-babies-takes-center-stage-in-state-funding-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Pitt\u2019s Infamous Experimentation On Aborted Babies Takes Center Stage In State Funding Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpitts-infamous-experimentation-on-aborted-babies-takes-center-stage-in-state-funding-battle%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1544035&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/1280px-University_of_Pittsburgh_tablet2.jpeg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is set to receive over $151 million in state funding following efforts by Pennsylvania House Republicans to end the school\u2019s horrific fetal tissue research practices.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Pennsylvania\u2019s House of Representatives approved an amendment blocking Pitt\u2019s taxpayer funding unless the state-related university would agree under oath to no longer conduct experiments using fetal tissue obtained by elective abortions. The university\u2019s fetal tissue largely comes from nearby UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital (Magee), which performs more voluntary and medically induced abortions than any other hospital in the state.<\/p>\n<p>The day after the amendment was brought to the floor, a group of Democratic members of the PA House held a press conference to express their strong disapproval. Leading the charge against the amendment was Rep. Sara Innamorato, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5p4WuCKzhmg\">rejected<\/a> the attempts to stop \u201clife-saving and life-sustaining research\u201d at her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pahouse.com\/Innamorato\/About\/Biography\">alma mater<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Her sentiments were <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AustinDavisPA\/status\/1541900925807247362?s=20&#038;t=05YyxxJKJ9wZ3SKXNpvUQw\">echoed<\/a> by Rep. Austin Davis, a 2012 Pitt graduate who is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penncapital-star.com\/government-politics\/heres-how-pa-politicians-reacted-to-the-u-s-supreme-courts-abortion-decision\/\">running<\/a> as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, and Rep. Dan Frankel, Gov. Tom Wolf\u2019s former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pahouse.com\/Frankel\/About\/Biography\">designee<\/a> to Pitt\u2019s Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday night, the House voted to pass Pitt\u2019s annual appropriation, with half of the Republican members\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/CFDOCS\/Legis\/RC\/Public\/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2021&#038;sess_ind=0&#038;rc_body=H&#038;rc_nbr=1116\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">condemning<\/a>\u00a0the funding. The financial restriction for engaging in research using elective abortions was added to a separate bill that passed almost completely\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/CFDOCS\/Legis\/RC\/Public\/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2021&#038;sess_ind=0&#038;rc_body=H&#038;rc_nbr=1115\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">along<\/a>\u00a0party lines.<\/p>\n<p>Conservative lawmakers\u2019 opposition to providing Pitt with financial backing gained steam after the 2020 publication of a taxpayer-funded immunology <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-020-71548-z\">study<\/a> in which university researchers grafted fetal scalps to mice and rats. The disturbing project prompted a House Health Committee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/WU01\/LI\/TR\/Transcripts\/2021_0086T.pdf\">hearing<\/a>\u00a0on fetal experimentation last May.<\/p>\n<p>Pitt encountered national scrutiny three months later when Judicial Watch released\u00a0a 2015 grant application sent from Pitt to the National Institutes of Health that led to allegations of fetuses being aborted alive at Magee to \u201censure the highest quality biological specimens.\u201d The university receives significant funding from the NIH which has steadily increased over the past decade.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Judicial Watch caused further headaches for the university this April by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/aborted-human-tissue-lab-contacted-nih-for-publicity-help\/\">revealing<\/a> records showing that Pitt Associate Senior Vice Chancellor for Science Strategy Dr. Jeremy Berg contacted then-NIH Director Francis Collins to request help with combating \u201cefforts to undermine important science using fetal tissue.\u201d Berg <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nih.gov\/news-events\/news-releases\/berg-step-down-national-institute-general-medical-sciences-director\">served<\/a> as director of the NIH\u2019s National Institute of General Medical Sciences from 2003 to 2011.<\/p>\n<p>Frustration with Pitt\u2019s version of science has not been exclusive to representatives within the state. In May, 89 Republican members of Congress from around the country sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankford.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/2022-05-24_-_bicameral_member_letter_to_oig_request_on_fetal_tissue_research_final.pdf\">letter<\/a> to the Department of Health and Human Services requesting a thorough investigation into Pitt\u2019s fetal tissue research. Inspector General Christi Grimm responded to the request by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncregister.com\/cna\/rep-chris-smith-hopeful-fetal-tissue-research-at-university-of-pittsburgh-will-be-investigated\">stating<\/a> that her office will \u201cfollow up accordingly,\u201d and a special agent has been assigned to the case.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A statement provided by Rep. Innamorato\u2019s office suggests that an examination of the fetal tissue research has already taken place and found no evidence of wrongdoing. This is based on a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/27\/pitts-official-assessment-tries-to-explain-away-their-unethical-experiments-with-aborted-babies\/\">flawed<\/a> investigation paid for by Pitt and conducted by a graduate of the university last fall. The <a href=\"https:\/\/humancelltissueresearch.pitt.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/Regulatory%20Assessment%20of%20Human%20Fetal%20Tissue%20Research%20(00877347-2)%5B4%5D.PDF\">report<\/a> demonstrated a failure to explore \u201cclinical decision-making\u201d and \u201cdelivery of medical care\u201d at Magee and incorrectly identified the source of fetal parts for the humanized rodent study as a California-based wholesaler.<\/p>\n<p>Pitt\u2019s appropriation bill is expected to get final approval by Gov. Wolf. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.pa.gov\/newsroom\/gov-wolf-abortion-access-in-pennsylvania-will-remain-legal-and-safe-as-long-as-i-am-governor\/\">pro-abortion<\/a> Democrat was undeterred by the fetal tissue controversy when he <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/11\/29\/pennsylvania-governor-celebrates-hospital-accused-of-grotesque-fetal-experiments\/\">partnered<\/a> with Magee last November to flaunt his administration\u2019s effort to improve maternal health services.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Both the university and Wolf will be pulling for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro in the upcoming November election. The state\u2019s attorney general has made his unwavering support for expanding abortion rights a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/pa-govs-race-democrat-josh-shapiro-banks-abortion-rights-winning-issue-rcna20324\">top issue<\/a> of his campaign. The future of Pitt\u2019s gruesome fetal tissue research also hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Ryan Navarro is a therapist in Pittsburgh who formerly interned and worked at UPMC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is set to receive over $151 million in state funding following efforts by Pennsylvania House Republicans to end the school\u2019s horrific fetal tissue research practices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1078,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1544035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1078"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1544035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1544035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1544035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1544035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}