On July 31, 2020, Vice-chair of the ATS Research Advocacy Committee, Thomas Mariani, PhD, provided public testimony in support of the use of fetal tissue in biomedical research at the first meeting of the new NIH Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board, chaired by Paige Comstock Cunningham, PhD. In his comments, Dr. Mariani pointed out that research studies with human fetal tissues were pivotal in development of  pulmonary surfactant as an intervention to combat the leading cause of death in preterm infants and are a major resource for development of vaccines, including for respiratory viruses similar to SARS-CoV2. He noted that no alternate exists to replace the use of human fetal tissues for many contemporary research applications.

Urging the Board to refrain from placing any restrictions upon the use of fetal tissues in research studies, Dr. Mariani said, “Local and regional Institutional Review Boards serve to ensure that research is compliant with the ethical standards and regulations governing human subject research. Any restrictions are best considered at the local and regional level, using the Institutional Review Board process that continues to be fully functional,” Dr. Mariani said.

The NIH Human Fetal Tissue Research Advisory Board was formed as part of the Trump Administration’s 2019 policy changes on the use of fetal tissue in federally-funded research. These changes include a ban on the use of fetal tissue in federally-funded intramural research and revised NIH guidelines requiring additional justification in grant applications for the use of fetal tissue, separate review by the ethics board. Additionally, early-career researchers applying for NIH training awards are restricted from involvement in fetal tissue research.