The letter, dated March 25, 2020, is a joint appeal from numerous leading scientific, medical, and patient advocacy organizations to President Donald J. Trump. The signatories urge a reconsideration and immediate lifting of federal restrictions on research involving human fetal tissue, emphasizing the critical role such research plays in developing treatments and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. They stress that the current global health crisis poses an unprecedented threat, potentially costing millions of lives, and argue that all available biomedical research tools, including human fetal tissue, should be used to accelerate medical breakthroughs. The letter highlights the historical importance and regulatory oversight of fetal tissue research in the United States, referencing its vital contributions to therapies for other viral diseases.
The organizations contend that recent administrative barriers, particularly the halt on new NIH-funded fetal tissue projects and additional layers of ethics review, are impeding urgently needed research and risking further delays in developing effective COVID-19 interventions. They point out that established ethical and legal frameworks already govern this kind of research, making new review panels redundant and unnecessarily bureaucratic. The coalition frames their appeal as a matter of public health urgency, stressing that maintaining the restrictions could force American researchers to cede leadership in biomedical advancements to other countries. They conclude by urging the administration to lift these restrictions to help end the pandemic, alleviate human suffering, and better prepare the nation for future public health threats.
