FDA cuts ties with fetal tissue company

The Food and Drug Administration is severing its contract with Advanced Bioscience Resources, a company that provided human fetal tissue for research, according to a statement Monday from the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS reviewed the contract and determined it did not include enough assurances that ABR meets tissue procurement standards. Undercover pro-life advocate David Daleiden has reported that ABR got the tissue from the bodies of babies aborted at Planned Parenthood facilities.

HHS also announced it would review all fetal tissue research to make sure it is up to ethical standards and ensure adequate oversight in the future. The agency said it is pursuing alternatives to fetal tissue research, both by investigating current options and funding efforts to develop new ones. The statement comes on the heels of a letter to the FDA demanding answers about a report that the FDA purchased tissue from aborted babies for research.