The top coronavirus vaccine contenders were not developed with cell lines from aborted fetuses, researchers at the anti-abortion think tank the Charlotte Lozier Institute reported.
The group praised the companies Pfizer and Moderna for making vaccines without the controversial cell lines, while still noting that both vaccines were tested with abortion-derived cell lines. CLI noted that these treatments are more ethical than those coming from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which use the cell lines in the actual production of their vaccines.
Still, CLI warned that either use of aborted fetal cell lines could make people of conscience more hesitant to take whichever vaccine gets the green light from the government.
“Some vaccine developers have unnecessarily put American families in a difficult position by choosing to use controversial human fetal cell lines in production or testing, or by a lack of transparency,” the group said in a statement, asking that, in the future, the companies use alternatives for production and testing, such as animal cell lines, non-fetal human cells, or yeast cells.
“Doing so will reduce vaccine hesitancy for those who oppose the use of fetal cell lines, thereby increasing the public health impact of the vaccine,” CLI said.
Coronavirus vaccine production, fueled by President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, became mired in controversy when, in October, Trump took a drug cocktail that was tested with abortion-derived cell lines. At the time, David Prentice, research director of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, told the Washington Examiner that the drug was “tainted” by the history of abortion.
Prentice added that while some people, especially Christians, may have moral disagreements with any use of aborted fetal material in vaccine production, the testing used for Trump’s treatment is not out of step with Republican policy. The Trump administration opposes the use of any new aborted fetal material in medical research. The controversial fetal cell lines in coronavirus research date back to the 1970s.
Still, many Christians have been wary of the vaccines. When Moderna announced that it had developed its treatment, Joseph Strickland, a popular Catholic bishop, urged members of his faith to reject the vaccine because it presented an ethical dilemma where “unborn children died in abortions and then their bodies were used as ‘laboratory specimens.'”
Most Christian authorities argue that people of conscience are not morally culpable for taking vaccines that were made with aborted fetal material at some level.
“We can concede the ethical validity of vaccine use, while not making total peace with the means of its development,” wrote Andrew Walker, a professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, with regard to the Moderna news.
