Pro-life leaders are challenging Dr. Francis Collins, a top Biden science advisor, after a new report claimed he defended the use of aborted baby parts for research while serving as director of the National Institutes of Health.

Collins, who identifies as a Christian and is a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, made his remarks during a private event at the University of Chicago in October, the Daily Wire reported, citing a leaked audio recording. He responded to a student, who asked him about National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for experiments, such as the University of Pittsburgh’s studies that involve the harvesting of aborted baby parts, at six to 42 weeks gestation, and grafting scalps of aborted babies onto lab rats. The Daily Wire noted that while Collins said that he is “troubled” by abortion, he suggested that a moral and ethical case could be made for using the tissue of aborted fetuses.

Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie, a senior fellow with the The Catholic Association (and host of “Conversations with Consequences,” a weekly EWTN radio show), addressed Collins’ stance on science.

“It is true that valuable information may be gleaned from unethically-sourced material,” she admitted. “This has been a constant temptation in science for as long as the scientific method has been practiced. There exists, understandably, a great temptation to look to the ‘greater good’ and disregard the negative impact on the experimental subject.”

She described that negative impact: “In the case of experimentation using fetal remains, to use the tissue for experimentation is to treat human remains without the dignity they should be accorded,” she said. “Also, it opens up a Pandora’s box of possibilities for abuse.”

“Women at a time of distress can be taken advantage of and pressed to donate the remains,” she explained. “Avaricious abortion facilities, handsomely paid to produce the specimens, are tempted to press the mothers. There is also the great temptation to change the type of procedure or its timing in order to produce the most profitable specimen, when only the mother’s safety and comfort should be consulted.”

Read more of the Catholic News Agency article here.