Richard A. Sokerka
As our nation continues to be gripped in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, the challenge to find a vaccine for COVID-19 for the general population is going on at breakneck speed by American companies.
However, what is most important as these firms work tirelessly to find a vaccine is that they develop an effective and safe one that avoids unethical links to aborted fetal cells.
In a letter sent earlier this month to Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and President Trump, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities; heads of three bishops’ conference committees, and leaders of pro-life groups, wrote, “It is critically important that Americans have access to a vaccine that is produced ethically: no American should be forced to choose between being vaccinated against this potentially deadly virus and violating his or her conscience.
“Fortunately, there is no need to use ethically problematic cell lines to produce a COVID-19 vaccine, or any vaccine, as other cell lines or processes that do not involve cells from abortions are available and are regularly being used to produce other vaccines,” it read.
The letter’s signers wrote they “strongly support” vaccine development “as quickly as possible.” Nevertheless, at the same time, they urged the federal government to “ensure that fundamental moral principles are followed in the development of such vaccines, most importantly, the principle that human life is sacred and should never be exploited.”
The signatories wrote that they “are aware that, among the vaccines currently in development, some are being produced using old cell lines that were created from the cells of aborted babies” and cited Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which is working on a vaccine produced using “ethically problematic cell lines.”
The letter-writers pointed out other vaccine developers who are using cell lines not linked to these “unethical procedures and methods,” citing Sanofi, Pasteur, and Inovio, and the work of the John Paul II Medical Research Institute in this regard.
In 2005, the Pontifical Academy for Life noted that Catholics have an obligation to use ethically sourced vaccines when available, and have an obligation to speak up and request the development of new cell lines that are not derived from aborted fetuses. In addition, the Vatican document, Dignitatis Personae, published in 2008, strongly criticized aborted fetal tissue research.
We urge the Trump Administration to seriously consider and put into place the recommendations made by these pro-life leaders in the search for an ethically sourced vaccine for COVID-19. It most certainly can be done.