Fetal Tissue Research Requires Donor Consent Under HHS Proposal

Researchers who want to use fetal tissue would have to first get the consent of the pregnant woman who donated it under a proposed rule issued Monday.

The proposal follows a Health and Human Services policy in 2019 that effectively stopped human fetal tissue research at the National Institutes of Health.

“In light of the serious ethical and moral considerations presented by the use of fetal tissue for research purposes, as well as to protect the interests of pregnant women (and the integrity of science), HHS proposes that the requirement for informed consent for tissue donation should apply to ...