The National Institutes for Health (NIH) has laid out new guidelines that likely will result in additional embryos being destroyed for research. The draft regulations are limited to so-called “excess embryos” from fertility clinics, but pro-life leaders say the nation is headed toward more life-destroying research. “Essentially, they’re going to provide an incentive to cannibalize fertility-clinic embryos—both the ones that are there now and into the future,” said David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council. The Dickey-Wicker amendment, which prohibits the federal government from funding the creation and/or destruction of embryos for research, will come up for a vote soon, as it does every year. The public is able to comment on the new NIH guidelines.
