{"id":2506427,"date":"2025-11-04T08:41:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/confirming-thomas-bell-could-bring-justice-to-the-aborted-babies\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T08:44:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:44:16","slug":"confirming-thomas-bell-could-bring-justice-to-the-aborted-babies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/confirming-thomas-bell-could-bring-justice-to-the-aborted-babies\/","title":{"rendered":"Confirming Thomas Bell Could Bring Justice To The Aborted Babies"},"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\">20<\/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%2Fconfirming-thomas-bell-could-bring-justice-to-the-aborted-babies%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=2506427&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--><p>A recent U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing reviewed the nomination of Thomas March bell for the role of Inspector General at the Department of Health adn Human Services (HHS). Bell, a former fetal tissue investigator, may revive a 2021 federal probe into the University of Pittsburgh&#8217;s alleged illicit use of fetal tissue from aborted fetuses, including a controversial 2020 study involving fetal scalps attached too lab animals. Bell was nominated to replace former HHS Inspector General Christi Grimm, whose dismissal under the Trump management was contested by Democrats. Bell has a history of scrutinizing fetal tissue practices, including investigations into Planned Parenthood&#8217;s fetal tissue sales, which have connections to the University of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n<p>During the hearing, Senator James Lankford criticized the Biden administration for inadequate oversight of abortion facilities and highlighted legislation aimed at ending federal funding for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President ...\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">fetal tissue research<\/a>. Bell responded that he would adhere strictly to legal and factual guidelines. The HHS-OIG inquiry into Pitt was prompted by Republican lawmakers&#8217; concerns about altered abortion procedures to obtain fetal tissue, based partly on NIH grant proposals. After the investigation began, pitt hired a law firm to review its research, which reported no notable wrongdoing but overlooked a hospital connected to most fetal tissue sourcing. Bell&#8217;s confirmation could lead to a more extensive investigation of these facilities.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration had pledged to investigate the harvesting of aborted fetal organs, with NIH leadership promising to halt related funding. The current administration appears to be continuing this approach, recently deciding not to renew several NIH-funded fetal tissue research grants. The University of Pittsburgh is a significant recipient of NIH funding, making the investigation and Bell&#8217;s potential oversight highly consequential.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A recent nomination <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finance.senate.gov\/chairmans-news\/crapo-announces-social-security-ustr-hhs-nominations-hearing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing<\/a> was held in the U.S. Senate in which lawmakers considered Thomas March Bell, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legistorm.com\/person\/bio\/250769\/Thomas_March_Bell.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">former<\/a> fetal tissue investigator, for the inspector general role at the Department of Health and Human Services. The Senate Committee on Finance will now determine whether his nomination is advanced to the full Senate.<\/p>\n<p>If confirmed, Bell will have the opportunity to revive a 2021 federal investigation into the University of Pittsburgh&rsquo;s potentially illicit use of fetal tissue obtained from aborted babies. In one particularly gruesome&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-020-71548-z\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">study<\/a> published in 2020, the scalps of second-trimester infants aborted at an affiliated hospital were sliced off and attached to mice and rats by Pitt researchers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bell was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiercehealthcare.com\/regulatory\/trump-nominates-planned-parenthood-opponent-replace-fired-hhs-oig-chief\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">named<\/a> in March to replace former HHS Inspector General Christi Grimm, whom President Trump fired in January. In a letter sent before the hearing to U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Democratic members demanded that Bell&rsquo;s consideration be tabled, writing that Grimm&rsquo;s removal by Trump was &ldquo;unlawful and illegitimate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The members have been unhappy with Grimm&rsquo;s potential replacement due to his criticism of how the abortion industry has conducted business. Between 2015 and 2017,&nbsp;Bell&nbsp;served as staff director and chief counsel for a House select panel <a href=\"https:\/\/lifelegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Select_Investigative_Panel_Final_Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">examining<\/a>&nbsp;the purported sale of fetal tissue for research in Planned Parenthood facilities, which have <a href=\"https:\/\/pafamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/PFC-Mini-Brief-aborted-baby-procurement-bw-UPitt-Planned-Parenthood-1-4.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ties<\/a> to the University of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n<p>During the hearing, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., criticized the Biden administration, stating that it &ldquo;wouldn&rsquo;t touch&rdquo; abortion facility oversight, including whether facilities complied with proper medical procedures. Last year, Lankford cosponsored a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/app\/details\/BILLS-118s3713is\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bill<\/a> aimed at ending the use of federal taxpayer funds for <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >research involving human fetal tissue<\/a> from abortions and closing legal loopholes that have enabled the trafficking of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nyt-writes-off-crimes-that-hurt-dems-electorally-as-mere-local-stories\/\" title=\"NYT Writes Off Crimes That Hurt Dems Electorally As Mere \u2018Local\u2019 Stories\">aborted fetal body parts<\/a>. Bell said that he would &ldquo;follow the law and follow the facts&rdquo; when asked if he would track the issue.<\/p>\n<p>The HHS-OIG investigation into Pitt&rsquo;s fetal tissue research was&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/JW-v-HHS-Univ-Pitt-docs-03045.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">initiated<\/a> after suspicions of unlawful conduct &mdash; including claims of altered abortion procedures to obtain tissue &mdash; were&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/chrissmith.house.gov\/uploadedfiles\/2022-05-24_-_bicameral_member_letter_to_oig_request_on_fetal_tissue_research_final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">detailed<\/a>&nbsp;by Republican lawmakers in multiple&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/webster.house.gov\/_cache\/files\/e\/c\/eccafa5a-54cc-4681-b4c1-4b5fdecda13d\/30B322841222F734C8E0C2A1BC8F802A.doj-letter-on-pitt-fetal-tissue.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letters<\/a>&nbsp;to the Biden administration. The assertions were primarily based on a 2015 grant application submitted to the National Institutes of Health in which the university highlighted its ability to minimize the time between collecting fetal tissue and cooling it for storage.<\/p>\n<p>Former Inspector General Grimm&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/251435\/rep-chris-smith-hopeful-fetal-tissue-research-at-university-of-pittsburgh-will-be-investigated\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">indicated<\/a>&nbsp;that her office would follow up upon completion of the inquiry, and Pitt got out in front of the probe by hiring one of the university&rsquo;s graduates and his law firm to conduct a regulatory assessment of the research studies involving fetal tissue. The effort seemed to pay off, as the federal investigation died off shortly after the law firm&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/humancelltissueresearch.pitt.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/Regulatory%20Assessment%20of%20Human%20Fetal%20Tissue%20Research%20(00877347-2)%5b4%5d.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>, which claimed no serious wrongdoing, was published.<\/p>\n<p>The law firm review&rsquo;s most glaring omission was a failure to look into the nearby hospital, UPMC Magee-Womens, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pittbiospecimencore.pitt.edu\/tissue-collection-banking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contains<\/a> one of the university&rsquo;s tissue banks and provides fetal organs for the vast majority of Pitt studies. Allegations of partial-birth abortions and the harvesting of fetal organs to enhance research outcomes went unexamined, according to the final report. Bell&rsquo;s confirmation would open the door to a thorough look at this facility and its tangled relationship with the university.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after nominating Bell earlier this year, President Trump&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rawstory.com\/trump-2671434527\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> that his administration planned to &ldquo;look into&rdquo; the harvesting of aborted baby organs. His National Institutes of Health director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/catholicvote.org\/trump-nominee-prohibit-use-aborted-fetal-tissue-national-institutes-health-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vowed<\/a>&nbsp;during his Senate hearing that he would discontinue the use of aborted fetal tissue in grants funded through the agency.<\/p>\n<p>So far, the administration appears to be following through. Last month, the NIH <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2025\/09\/10\/exclusive-nih-pledges-not-to-renew-17-grants-for-research-using-aborted-human-fetal-tissue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pledged<\/a> that more than a dozen human fetal tissue projects initiated by the Biden administration and intended to continue into next year would not be renewed. The University of Pittsburgh has been a major recipient of NIH funding, currently ranking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.utimes.pitt.edu\/news\/pitt-once-again-sixth-nih\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sixth<\/a>&nbsp;in the country for research dollars among all colleges and universities.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Ryan Navarro is a therapist in Pittsburgh who formerly interned and worked at UPMC.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate reviews Thomas Bell for HHS inspector general role<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1078,"featured_media":2506428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screen-Shot-2025-11-02-at-9.17.14-PM-1024x623.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4310,4901,66454],"class_list":["post-2506427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-abortion","tag-justice","tag-thomas-bell"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screen-Shot-2025-11-02-at-9.17.14-PM-1024x623.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506427","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=2506427"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2506431,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506427\/revisions\/2506431"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2506428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2506427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2506427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2506427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}