Catholic bishops defend coronavirus vaccines: 'Moral responsibility for the common good'

The chairmen of the U.S. bishop committees on doctrine and anti-abortion activities issued a statement on Monday emphasizing that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 should be seen by Catholics as “an act of love” and a “moral responsibility” despite its connections to abortion.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were involved in a commonly employed “confirmatory test” that relies on HEK293, a cell line derived from a human embryonic kidney cell from a fetus that was aborted in the 1970s. Because of this, some Catholics, including bishops, have expressed concerns about the ethics of getting the vaccine, with some calling for Catholics to “reject a vaccine which has been produced immorally.”