Pennsylvania lawmakers block funding for U Pitt over research using fetal body parts

Pennsylvania Republicans successfully blocked funding for the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) on Monday after a failed attempt last year over concerns about the school’s research using fetal body parts.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Temple University’s funding was also blocked while Republicans declined to vote on Penn State but expressed concerns as the quasi-public university faces controversy over its “gender-affirming care” for minors. Funding for state-related universities like Pitt, Temple, Penn State, and Lincoln requires approval by two-thirds majority in both chambers of the legislature. 

Pitt has long faced scrutiny from pro-life advocates and was the subject of a contentious hearing in 2021 over its fetal tissue research. Pitt and others’ “state-related” status allows them to avoid the full weight of public records laws, but some information has been revealed – and it’s gruesome. 

The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) was able to obtain Pitt’s application for federal funding of its GUDMAP program. In it, the school stated its interest in “develop[ing] a pipeline to the acquisition, quality control and distribution of human genitourinary [urinary and genital organs and functions] samples obtained throughout development (6-42 weeks gestation).” 

Language in the application prompted federal lawmakers to suggest the university might be violating anti-trafficking laws, something it has denied. It’s also denied that organs were extracted from live fetuses, although multiple physicians and experts have said the university’s statements pointed to just that.  

The issue is unresolved, as the Biden administration has seemed uninterested in investigating Pitt’s problematic statements. Last year, it deferred to a highly criticized investigation in which Pitt’s law firm said it was in compliance with federal and state law. Surrounding the investigation were concerns about conflicts of interest and the fact that Pitt’s law firm wouldn’t look into the university’s medical center, where the abortions in question were thought to take place.

CMP has released a video on other aspects of Pitt’s research, including a study that involved grafting fetal scalps onto rodents. Former University of Pittsburgh Medical Center therapist Ryan Navarro has said that he resigned after reading about that particular experiment.

Government-Sponsored Fetal Experimentation at the University of Pittsburgh and Planned Parenthood

It’s unclear how lawmakers will proceed. Republicans were unable to defund Pitt last year and the Inquirer’s reporting indicates that they may be open to funding the university depending on what a budget deal looks like:

Democratic and Republican leaders both requested that the House reconsider the votes on a future day, meaning that the state-related universities still have a chance to get their state funding.

Cutler said late Monday that House Republicans are “ready, willing, and able” to return to the state-related university debates when Democrats are ready to hold the schools accountable.

House Minority Appropriations Chair Rep. Seth Grove (R., York) said Republicans also rejected the higher education funding bills, in part, because the budget deal isn’t done yet. The state budget is due on Friday.

“We’re not going to put our pockets up for votes without knowing what the final play is in the big picture in terms of the overall budget,” Grove added.

Echoing criticisms last year, the university warned that eliminating its funding would jeopardize tuition discounts for students.

Pitt spokesperson Jared Stonesifer reportedly said, “We look forward to continuing to engage in good-faith discussions with all members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, especially in relation to making Pennsylvania more competitive and moving the state beyond ranking second-to-last in the nation in funding for higher education.”

Beyond the research itself, there are questions about the entities involved and potential conflicts of interest with groups like Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania (PPWP). Before leaving his job, Navarro submitted an ethics complaint about Dr. Beatrice Chen, a UPMC doctor who sat on the university’s institutional review board, which vets its research projects, and has served as PPWP’s medical director. 

Pitt has denied having a “procurement relationship” with PPWP but the school has hosted a residency program in which participants worked in a PPWP clinic and UPMC facilities. The school has also maintained that it and UPMC are separate entities. Nevertheless, the school’s human tissue bank has listed labs in three UPMC facilities.