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The recent investigation into the University of Pittsburgh wasn't nearly enough to address allegations of illegal and unethical activities surrounding its fetal tissue research, multiple GOP politicians have indicated.
"The University of Pittsburgh’s investigation is a whitewash," Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"A truly transparent and comprehensive assessment would not have evaded the questions raised by public records, especially and including whether the University of Pittsburgh 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," added Smith, who chairs the House Pro-Life Caucus.
"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."
University of Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning building (Education Images/Universal Images Group)
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH ACCUSED OF ‘LOWERING THE CONE OF SILENCE’ WITH NEW FETAL TISSUE PROBE
Smith's comments echoed previous concerns that the investigation – conducted by D.C.-based firm Hyman, Phelps and McNamara (HPM) – wouldn't probe the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Pitt has said that its fetal tissue comes from UPMC, and many — including nearly 100 members of Congress — have raised questions about the nature of abortions that yielded tissue for the university.
The law firm's report, released last month, said that "our findings confirm that the university’s activities in support of research involving human fetal tissue are conducted in compliance with federal and state laws."
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., speaks at an event at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. (Larry French)
It acknowledged, however, that it didn't investigate UPMC and cited a wall of separation between it and Pitt.
"[W]e did not review the clinical decision-making or delivery of medical care, such as abortion, by individuals serving in their capacity as University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) employees," the report stated.
"UPMC is a private, nonprofit corporation that operates hospitals and employs physicians, residents and fellows … Pitt has no role in managing or supervising the provision of medical services by UPMC personnel; therefore, our review did not include the activities conducted by individuals acting in their capacity as a UPMC employee."
A Pitt spokesperson pointed Fox News Digital to an earlier statement on the investigation. "This review is now complete and confirms that the University to Pittsburgh’s activities ‘related to the procurement, disbursement and use of human fetal tissue in research are fully compliant with applicable laws,'" the statement said.
Pitt has long denied any wrongdoing and maintained its researchers didn't participate in medical procedures related to tissue collection for the GenitoUrinary Development Molecular Anatomy Project (GUDMAP) program, which sought to "develop 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)."
It remains unclear, however, why Pitt commented on tissue collection and said in its National Institutes of Health (NIH) application that it was able to minimize ischemia time. Asked about the ischemia reference, David Seldin, the university's assistant vice chancellor for news, previously told Fox News Digital: "In this case, ischemia time refers to the time after the tissue collection procedure and before cooling for storage and transport."
Seldin's comments prompted numerous physicians to say he was essentially acknowledging fetuses were alive during organ extraction – something Seldin and the university have vehemently denied. According to NIH, ischemia is a "[l]ack of blood supply to a part of the body."
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital the university needed closer scrutiny.
"It’s clear the firm which conducted this review, which already had potential conflict-of-interest issues, relied heavily on the University of Pittsburgh’s word and simplistic ‘understanding’ that fetal tissue was properly used," Kelly said.
The Capitol is seen at dawn in Washington, on Election Day, Nov. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
"I am unsatisfied with those results, which did not produce hard evidence of proper use. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) have not responded to a letter I led with more than 50 of my colleagues in Congress requesting further transparency into the matter. I continue to call on all parties to provide detailed answers into our inquiries and to shine a true light on this incredibly important issue."
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Kelly's conflict of interest accusation seemed to be referring to HPM attorney Michael Heeters, a Pitt alum who graduated from the school of pharmacy in 2004. Pitt has said the conflicts of interest accusations are "completely devoid of merit."
Besides Heesters, Pitt professor Dr. Beatrice Chen has also prompted concerns as she has served in leading positions at Pitt, UPMC and Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania (PPWP).
In its report, HPM said it was the firm's "understanding that no fetal tissue is collected from abortions performed at [PPWP]." The firm also noted "ambiguity in the signature field of consent forms [for fetal tissue donation] that has led to errors by the healthcare professional describing their role in the tissue collection process."
Both state Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Upper St. Clair, and Carla Sands, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate and former ambassador to Denmark, expressed concerns about the moral issues involved and indicated meeting legal thresholds wasn't enough.
"The issue here is not one of legality," Sands said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday. "It’s about morality. The fetuses that they are operating on are human beings who had their lives ahead of them. Not one dime of our tax dollars should go to this research, and those conducting this research should be held accountable."
Mihalek told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that an investigation "cannot and should not merely be a test of whether or not the university complied with the state and federal requirements."
Mihalek is also Pitt alum, sits on the university's Board of Trustees and helped announce the investigation. It's unclear why she supported the probe with its limited scope or knew about that limit prior to HPM releasing its report. Mihalek did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden, along with watchdog group Judicial Watch, brought national attention to the university's GUDMAP research, which identified the Pitt biospecimen core as the source of its tissue. Pitt itself has acknowledged that UPMC provides tissue for its biospecimen core and houses several of the tissue bank's locations.
HPM's report notes appear to contradict what the university previously said about the source of tissue used for an experiment involving fetal scalps grafted onto rodents. While the scientific paper said the tissue came from the Pitt biospecimen core, HPM's report said it came from Advanced Biosciences Resources.
On Tuesday, HPM sent Fox News Digital a statement saying it had inadvertently mismatched references in its report.
"In our report, we inadvertently reversed references to two studies conducted by the same researcher," said attorney Anne Walsh. "The discussion on page 22 should not have cited to the study that was published in Scientific Reports; rather, the citation should have been to the other study conducted by the researcher, which did source tissue from ABR.
"This error does not alter the substantive content of the report or its conclusions: the Pitt IRB [Institutional Review Board] reviewed the study protocols for both these studies and appropriately determined they were compliant with federal and state law."
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HPM did not respond to the comments from GOP politicians. Pitt referred Fox News Digital to its previous statement on the investigation and said HPM spoke for itself.
While Walsh's comments may provide some clarity, state and local advocates are already calling for more action.
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"This investigation was clearly an attempt by the university to obfuscate and gloss over the barbaric reality of UPMC fetal tissue research projects," Herb Geraghty, a Pittsburgh resident and head of Rehumanize International, told Fox News Digital.
"We are obviously not satisfied with the few answers that the report has provided. We plan to continue organizing and mobilizing students, alumni and community members to demand justice for the victims of this extreme violence."
The offices for Gov. Tom Wolf, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., and Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Pa., did not respond to Fox News' request for comment. The offices for Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., declined to comment.
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