In response to pressure from Congress and pro-life groups, including Operation Rescue, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has terminated a contract with Advanced Biosciences, a company that procures aborted baby remains from abortion facilities and sells them.

According to a press statement released late yesterday, “HHS is now conducting an audit of all acquisitions involving human fetal tissue to ensure conformity with procurement and human fetal tissue research laws and regulations. In addition, HHS has initiated a comprehensive review of all research involving fetal tissue to ensure consistency with statutes and regulations governing such research, and to ensure the adequacy of procedures and oversight of this research in light of the serious regulatory, moral, and ethical considerations involved.”

However, this means that fetal tissue experimentation may continue as long as it meets government “standards,” something the Susan B. Anthony List, which spearheaded the effort to halt all such activity, believes this decision to review rather than terminate fetal tissue procurement and experimentation does not go far enough.

“Secretary Azar must put an immediate moratorium on funding for research using aborted baby organs and tissue purchased from the abortion industry,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser in a written statement. “Further, Secretary Azar should instead devote tax dollars to ethical alternatives that – unlike experimentation on fetal tissue – produce successful therapies for patients. Canceling a single contract and conducting a review is a small step forward, but overall is completely inadequate.”

The National Institutes of Health currently funds experimentation using human fetal tissue and organs to the tune of $100 million U.S. taxpayer dollars. Much of the aborted baby tissue and organs goes to create humanized mice, which are altered to more closely resemble human systems.

Full story at Operation Rescue.