Attorney General Cameron Joins 19-State Coalition Affirming Trump Administration Ban on Federally Funded Fetal Tissue Research

Frankfort, Ky. (April 10, 2020) – Attorney General Daniel Cameron today joined a 19-state coalition of Attorneys General in a letter to President Trump and top administration officials in support of the current ban on federally funded fetal tissue research from abortions.

The letter urges the Trump Administration to deny a request from California and several other states asking for an end to the ban on the federal funding of fetal tissue research in order to assist with alleged research efforts on the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”).  The letter notes that the California coalition “identifies no current medical treatments that required for their discovery or development research using fetal tissues from induced abortions.”

“There is no evidence to suggest that fetal tissue from aborted babies is necessary to develop a COVID-19 vaccine or treatments,” said Attorney General Cameron.  “In this time of crisis, it is essential that we follow the ethical and moral principles that led to this ban in the first place, and we support the Trump Administration’s policy of prohibiting federally funded research using the tissue of unborn children.”

In enacting the 2019 ban on the federal funding of fetal tissue research, the Department for Health and Human Services noted that “promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death is one of the very top priorities of President Trump’s administration.”

Last year, the Supreme Court upheld state interest in the humane disposal of remains of unborn children (Box v. Planned Parenthood of Ind. & Ky., Inc., 139 S. Ct. 1780 (2019)).

Attorney General Cameron signed the letter along with Attorneys General from the states of Indiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

To view a copy of the letter, click here.

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