Joe Biden’s pick to head the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports research using the body parts of babies killed in abortions. As a result, a leading pro-life group strongly opposes Monica Bertagnolli’s nomination as the next director of the NIH.
At her confirmation hearing, Bertagnolli refused to condemn the practice of buying and selling aborted baby body parts for federally funded research, instead giving a nod to NIH practices that exploit human life.
As a result, SBA Pro-Life president Marjorie Dannenfelser told LifeNews her group stands against Bertagnolli.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris continue to fill federal posts with appointees who are in lockstep with the abortion agenda,” said Dannenfelser.
“The American public deserves an NIH director who will prioritize ethical research and refrain from funding experimentation using the organs and other body parts of aborted children, sold by the abortion industry. It is concerning that, when asked, Dr. Bertagnolli was unwilling to clearly express concerns about NIH funding that supports the unethical market for baby body parts – such as that uncovered at abortion giant Planned Parenthood,” she added.
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Dannenfelser continued: “Time and again, Democrats have refused to endorse a single limit on abortion. In similar fashion, Bertagnolli won’t give straight answers condemning American taxpayer funding for grisly experiments on the bodies of aborted babies. All the more reason we need a pro-life administration, headed by a National Defender of Life, to put a stop to these practices.”
Bertagnolli, a self-professed Catholic, is the current director of the National Cancer Institute, a former Harvard professor, and renowned surgeon.
But she is also coming under fire for close ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
“Despite there being deep and bipartisan concern about the role that big pharmaceutical companies play in the delivery of healthcare in America, the United States Senate is being asked to place someone with close, long-standing, and lucrative ties to the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies to lead one of the most important health care agencies in the country,” the American Accountability Foundation (AAF) stated in a July 5 memo
In addition, Bertagnolli also served as an independent director at a diagnostics company that specialized in prenatal tests, which the New York Times exposed as having an 85% failure rate. Prenatal tests are often used eugenically, to abort children with supposed diagnoses of Down Syndrome and other “undesirable” conditions.
“These are tests that too many parents rely on to abort what they believe is a ‘handicapped child’,” CatholicVote’s Tom McClusky stated.
The NIH falls under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and operates as the nation’s medical research agency. This department has been without a permanent director since December of 2021, when Dr. Francis Collins retired after a controversial tenure overseeing the COVID-19 response. Collins also supported research using aborted baby parts.
