The federal government is investigating the University of Pittsburgh (“Pitt”) over allegations that it unlawfully obtained parts and tissues of aborted children for experiments.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is reportedly conducting the investigation.
The mounting accusations against Pitt appear to stem from a collection of emails. The Daily Wire reported Thursday that they were “obtained as part of a public records request from Judicial Watch and the Center for Medical Progress (CMP).”
“[Pitt] has been a center for some of the most barbaric experiments, government funded experiments, on the body parts of late-term aborted babies,” said David Daleiden.
Daleiden is the founder and president of the CMP, a pro-life group known for its extensive investigative journalism work.
“We now have the first confirmation with these [Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)] documents that this is all subject of a formal federal law enforcement investigation of the [OIG],” he said.
Daleiden’s organization has been looking into Pitt’s experiments on baby parts for at least the last four years. According to The Daily Wire the experiments “included scalping five-month-old fetuses in order to stitch their scalps and back skin onto lab rats and transporting fetal kidneys to other researchers.”
The Pennsylvania Family Institute (“PA Family”) added that Pitt and its affiliated nonprofit global hospital network the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) “jointly operate a Pitt Tissue Bank, which supplies aborted fetal organs and tissue to Pitt researchers.”
PA Family claimed that Pitt and UPMC have “multiple Planned Parenthood abortion providers on staff performing abortions and training medical students to do so.”
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Per PA Family: “Documents show University of Pittsburgh set racial quotas on aborted babies for experiments.”
“Doctors say Pitt statements point to possibility [sic] organs extracted from live fetuses,” the pro-life organization stated.
Again from The Daily Wire:
According to the emails, Pitt’s Senior Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Rob Rutenba acknowledged the existence of a federal probe into the school in response to an email from NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research Dr. Michael Lauer requesting information on the fetal tissue projects at the university.
According to Pitt’s own website: “Fetal tissue research plays a crucial role in scientists’ efforts to combat and cure some of our most devastating diseases, including Alzheimer’s, ALS, diabetes and Parkinson’s.”
“This research also helps us understand how to support healthy pregnancies, successful births and healthy babies,” Pitt’s website elaborates:
Scientists at Pitt have used fetal tissue to better understand the efficacy and safety of certain treatments for HIV, AIDS and cancer. As another example, by learning how the placenta protects the fetus against viral infections, researchers are able to keep more mothers and their babies healthy and safe.
According to Pitt, they obtain aborted baby tissue “from repositories called tissue banks.”
“The Pitt Biospecimen Core, which provides central support for Pitt research programs, receives all fetal tissues from UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital,” the university notes.
Pro-life politicians have criticized the ongoing investigation by the Biden administration’s HHS as insufficient.
Speaking with FOX News, Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, called the HHS effort “a whitewash.”
Smith said:
A truly transparent and comprehensive assessment would not have evaded the questions raised by public records, especially and including whether [Pitt] used the body parts of babies who were born alive and died from having their organs harvested, as well as if individuals procuring the baby body parts for the university altered abortion procedures to suit their gruesome research.
“It is long past time for the federal HHS Office of Inspector General to conduct a full audit to determine whether infanticide or other misconduct is occurring,” he added.
In recent months, Smith has established himself as a steadfast advocate for adding pro-life protections to the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), against the Biden administration’s wishes.
The congressman is a Catholic and has a “A” rating from the Catholic Accountability Project.
LifeNews Note: Joshua Mercer writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.