Scores of Congressmen are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to open an investigation into whether the University of Pittsburgh (UPitt) violated federal law by “altering abortion procedures to harvest organs from babies who were old enough to live outside the womb.”

UPitt submitted a grant application for government funds so it could provide a “central hub for the procurement” of the body parts of aborted babies to be used for research on the human genitourinary system.

The application states that it can “isolate the human urogenital system (kidneys, ureters and bladders) from various developmental ages (6-24 weeks).”

It notes that in one year, it disbursed “over 300 fresh samples collected from 77 cases” and that the collections “can be significantly ramped up as material could have been accrued from as many as 725 cases last year.”

It’s important to note that all of that is sterilized language, which really describes the selling of body parts of aborted babies.

Now, there are concerns that UPitt’s methods of collecting the body parts of aborted babies may have been illegal. Federal law prohibits abortionists from altering their abortion methods in order to obtain fetal tissue in a certain way.

A letter written on September 21, 2021, authored by Senators James Lankford, R-Okla., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Steve Daines, R-Mont. along with Representatives Lisa McClain, R-Mich., and Blaine Leutkemeyer, R-Mo., raises these concerns.

It describes: “Pitt states that ‘ischemia time is minimized’ when it obtains fetal tissue. NIH defines ‘ischemia’ as ‘time a tissue, organ, or body part remains at body temperature after its blood supply has been reduced or cut off but before it is cooled or reconnected to a bloody supply.’ It would be illegal for Pitt to alter the ‘timing, method, or procedures’ of the abortion to minimize ischemia time.”

Additionally, the letter notes: “Pitt states that it ‘tailor[s] [its] collection processes on a case-by-case basis to maximize the needs of investigators.’ It would be illegal for researchers to have any part in the decisions surrounding the obtainment of fetal tissue from elective abortions.”

The revelations about UPitt’s potentially illegal practices came from 252 pages of documents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which were obtained by Judicial Watch via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. It was submitted on behalf of the Center for Medical Progress.

The funding for UPitt was provided by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), an arm of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) which is part of HHS.

According to the study’s project details, so far NIDDK has provided $1,499,961 in funding for the program. However, according to the documents obtained by Judicial Watch, the amount of taxpayer dollars provided to UPitt for the program totals nearly $3 million.

“These documents show taxpayer money is being used to turn the University of Pittsburgh into a one-stop human fetal tissue shop – from procuring the tissue from elective abortions, ‘subdividing’ the human remains, to distributing and shipping the harvested tissue,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton following the release of the documents.

The revelations sparked outrage on Capitol Hill, leading to the current calls for the DOJ to investigate.

“Exploiting the body parts of aborted children for research purposes is repulsive and should stop, regardless of the outcome hoped for by researchers,” the letter also stated.

“We ask for a complete investigation into the activities of this organization and a full report of the findings and any remedial measures necessary.”

A spokesperson from UPitt has maintained that nothing illegal has been done.

“Researchers have no part in any decisions as to the timing, method, or procedures used to terminate the pregnancy. All tissue was obtained in compliance with the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, as noted in the grant,” the spokesperson said.

Throughout history, many evil and immoral experiments have been justified in the name of “science” or “research.” UPitt’s practice of using government money to provide a “central hub” for the body parts of aborted babies is one such example.

Photo from Reuters.