The National Institutes of Health (NIH), under the leadership of the Trump administration, has stated that it will not be renewing federal funding for projects that use human fetal tissue. 

This comes, according to Breitbart News, after a watchdog group launched an investigation into the matter.

The group is the White Coat Waste Proejct (WCW), and it celebrated the news this week.

VICTORY! Less than a day after WCW's new exposé of active @NIH funding for wasteful & cruel tests that implant lab animals with human fetal tissue, NIH has confirmed to @thekat_hamilton:

"The referenced grants, initiated under the Biden administration, will not be renewed"… pic.twitter.com/jSXhXQddcf

— White Coat Waste (@WhiteCoatWaste) September 10, 2025

Background

The investigation began just days ago.

Breitbart News separately reported:

The taxpayer watch dog White Coat Waste Project (WCW) found that the nation’s medical research agency is still actively funding 17 projects listed under the “human fetal tissue” category — many projects which appear to have been greenlit by the Biden administration and are slated to continue through next year. The investigation, first obtained by Breitbart News, comes as Republicans work to include a measure in a spending bill for the 2026 fiscal year defunding research using human fetal tissue obtained in abortions.

The investigation found that the government was spending millions on such projects.

The outlet reported:

The 17 active grants received almost $22 million combined in the 2024 fiscal year, according to WCW, which describes itself as a “bipartisan government watchdog” whose mission is to “expose and close the U.S. government’s $20 billion animal testing business.” WCW pointed out that many of the grants have funded experiments on animals implanted with body parts from aborted babies. An HIV-related experiment funded by one of the grants details implanting human fetal tissue into mice.

Now, however, it appears that these projects are being defunded.

The latest

Within days of the WCW's launch of its investigation, the Trump administration has indicated that it will not be renewing these grants.

The NIH released a statement on the matter.

"NIH takes this issue very seriously and remains committed to the highest ethical standards in research. The referenced grants, initiated under the Biden administration, will not be renewed," it said.

It added, "NIH is guided by a commitment to valuing human life and ensuring that federally funded research is conducted responsibly and transparently. We are actively reviewing these matters and will take all necessary steps to ensure our policies reflect that commitment."

This, of course, is a massive change from what we saw in the Biden administration.