|
|
Vaccines Made
From Aborted Babies
by Debi Vinnedge
When the
article, “Vaccine From Aborted
Fetus Cell Lines Judged
Morally Acceptable” hit several Catholic publications earlier this
year, the reaction of readers was one of shock, anger and utter
disbelief that this country has been quietly producing vaccines for
the past 20 to 30 years from aborted fetuses. More shock: that we
have unknowingly vaccinated our children using this “tainted
source,” a more polite way of saying we have used pharmaceutical
products from murdered babies. And utterly outrageous is this:
There is currently no other source available for three widely used
vaccines, namely, hepatitis-A, chicken pox and rubella/MMR.
Letters denouncing both the article and the newspapers poured in
from staunch pro-life Catholics across the country who found the act
of profiting from abortion
unethical, immoral and downright repulsive. One woman wrote, “Please
tell me this is a mistake…This is Nazi Germany revisited.” And
while editors, ethicists and philosophers scrambled to respond, the
dark history of the vaccines began to unfold.
During the 1964 rubella epidemic, scientists were under pressure to
develop a treatment for the rapidly spreading virus. The concern
was not so much for the children who contracted it—rubella, or
“german measles,” is basically a harmless childhood disease. The
mild rash and fever last no more than a few days and complications
of any sort are rare. It only seriously affects pre-born infants
during the first trimester
of pregnancy if the mother is exposed and actually passes it on to
her child. If this should occur, an estimated 20-25% will contract
some form of Congenital Rubella Syndrome. Children infected are at
risk for growth retardation, malformations of the heart, eyes or
brain, deafness, and liver, spleen and bone marrow problems.
Because of that risk, doctors began to advise their pregnant
patients to consider their “options.” Those who chose to abort
their babies, we are quite sure, were never told whether or not
their child had actually contracted the rubella virus at all. We do
know that in the control experiment group, there were 27 abortions
performed before the live virus was detected. The first 26 were
apparently perfectly healthy babies. This 27th victim became known
in the science world as human diploid cell line WI-38. In the real
world, this tiny martyr was a female infant at just under three
months gestation. Her
lung tissue would be used to cultivate the weakened virus strains
for this and other future immunizations. In the 1970s, a second cell
line derived from a 14-week-old aborted male, dubbed MRC-5, would
provide fetal lung tissue for even further medical treatments.
Dangerous Parallels
As the controversy over the vaccines continued to grow, a number of
prominent Catholic ethicists and theologians were consulted.
Richard Doerflinger, associate director of Policy Development for
the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, had this to say: “Both
the British Bishops Conference and the National Catholic Bioethics
Center in Boston have done serious analysis of this problem.
Basically, both studies conclude that it is not immoral for a
parent to use these vaccines. Certainly, the abortions were immoral
and the vaccine companies’ cooperation with the abortionists was
immoral, but the idea that a person is complicit in that act many
years later, solely because he or she was presented with the vaccine
as the only available way to protect his or her health, is a
difficult argument to make.”
Dr. Janet Smith, professor of philosophy at the University of Dallas
stated, “Is it wise in our present culture—what Pope John Paul II
has called a ‘culture of death’—to use vaccines produced with the
aid of fetal tissue from aborted babies? Those who argue that it is
not, place a great deal of emphasis on the scandal and complicity
that may arise. They believe that, in a culture where scientists
are salivating over the availability of fetal tissue to use in
research, the use of such vaccines will be interpreted as giving
approval to such research and perhaps will even give rise to more
abortions and experimentation on embryos.” Her words have proven to
be chillingly prophetic.
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and some
members of Congress were quick to use this exact strategy to argue
for federal funding of research on stem cells derived from
deliberately destroyed human embryos. At the Senate subcommittee
hearings held 26 April 2000, Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) made the
comparison of the polio vaccine and its derivation from abortion, to
using embryonic stem cells and their potential medical possibilities
for treating major diseases in the future. A similar parallel was
again drawn by State Senator David Landis regarding the University
of Nebraska’s Medical Center research on aborted fetuses. During
their legislative session, Landis produced copies of the article
that had stated that the use of the present vaccines was morally
acceptable, and attempted to use that statement to strengthen his
position favoring the research.
Supporters of the research in Congress and NIH propose to destroy
human embryos in order to research new products that might be able
to treat life-threatening diseases. And today we have vaccines on
the market produced from destroyed human life. Both have immoral
acts in their origin. Both provide means of profiting from the
destruction of human life. Both hope to achieve some “noble” benefit
for mankind. And if the supporters have their way, we will soon be
facing further moral dilemmas, no different from what we have today
with the vaccines. For just as unnecessary as embryonic stem cell
research is—in that we have equal, if not greater, viability in
using adult stem cells—there are also alternative methods for
producing the vaccines in question. Mumps, measles, polio and
rabies already are available in “tainted” and “untainted” versions.
It is ludicrous to believe the same cannot be done for rubella,
chicken pox and hepatitis-A.
Doerflinger agreed: “For some vaccines, I think there might be other
ways, right now. In the case of others, they would have to be
developed. One can find out who the manufacturer is. Contact their
public relations office and complain. Raise the alarm. These
companies respond to pressure. They operate on the acceptance of the
public and if enough people are critical of this approach, they will
ask their researchers if there are other ways that don’t raise
controversy.”
The pro-life organization Children of God for Life decided to do
just that. In mid August they began a campaign, petitioning the
pharmaceutical companies that produce these vaccines to provide the
public with safe, effective alternatives that are not derived from
aborted fetal tissue. Letters were simultaneously written to
medical professionals, parents, religious organizations and leading
pro-life organizations, requesting their endorsement.
Advertisements were placed in Catholic and medical publications.
State Right to Life and Respect Life groups provided radio and
newsletter support. Parishes put inserts into their bulletins,
encouraging the faithful to sign the petition, which may be ordered
as a hard copy or signed on the Internet at Children of God’s
website: www.cogforlife.org.
Their free brochures are available to those who are interested in
distributing simple, consolidated and useful information on
embryonic stem cell research as well as the vaccines derived from
abortion. The vaccine flyers include phone numbers for physicians
to order those immunizations which use sources other than abortion
(mumps, polio, measles and rabies).
As a result of these and many other organized pro-life efforts, in
less than two months, Children of God for Life has gained nearly
400,000 signatures. And more importantly, they have gained the
attention of both the existing manufacturers of the illicit vaccines
and new pharmaceuticals who are interested in providing America with
the products they are demanding. Their statement is clear and
simple: “The pharmaceutical companies of this country have a moral
obligation to provide the American public—those who support their
multi-billion dollar operations—with safe, effective vaccines that
do not compromise our religious beliefs or the safety of our
children. Rest assured, we will not support any research or fund
any future products or pharmaceuticals that seek to bring new
products to the market, stained by the deliberate destruction of
innocent human life. We will not make this same mistake twice!”
For more information, write to: Children of God for Life, 2130
Catalina Drive, Clearwater, Fla. 33764, or visit their website at
www.cogforlife.org.
|
08/27/2001
|
|
