The US Government has ended federal funding for research which uses tissue from aborted babies.
The administration will instead direct funding towards the development of alternative research methods.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said “the dignity of human life” was a “top priority”.
Dignity
National Institutes of Health (NIH) research with new foetal tissue will no longer be conducted. External grant applications that would use this tissue will now also be subject to a review.
In addition, the Government will not renew a $2m contract with the University of California, San Francisco for research using tissue from abortions.
The DHHS said: “Promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death is one of the very top priorities of President Trump’s administration”.
Pro-life victory
Roy Blunt, a Republican Senator for Missouri who oversees NIH funding, described the decision as a “significant pro-life victory”.
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists said: “The protection and care of human life by physicians and researchers must exist at all stages of life from conception to natural death.”
Image of God
President Trump has been outspoken in expressing pro-life views since taking office.
In February, he used the annual State of the Union address to call for stricter laws on late-term abortions.
He denounced New York’s recent law change allowing abortion on demand up to the point of birth and said: “Let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: all children – born and unborn – are made in the holy image of God.”