Patients should be informed whether vaccines were developed from cells derived from biological material originally obtained from abortions, ethicists have said.
A Westminster Parliament Petition, spearheaded by the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics (SCHB), calls on the Government to ensure that vaccine information leaflets for patients disclose whether cells originating from an aborted child were used to produce or develop the vaccine. This would then enable patients to “make an informed decision, based on their conscience, whether or not to accept the treatment”.
Some vaccines for Rubella, Rabies, Hepatitis A, Chickenpox and COVID were obtained from, and/or tested against, cell lines derived from cells originating from aborted babies.
Conscience
Signatories explained that during the COVID-19 pandemic, “many patients in the UK became concerned when they learnt that a number of vaccines, including some COVID vaccines that were being offered, had originally been developed using cells from an aborted human foetus.
“When these concerned patients asked the healthcare professionals, on the day of their vaccination, whether the serum had been developed from an aborted foetus, these professionals were often unable to provide the relevant information.
“Moreover, such information was not included on the information leaflets being given to the patients at the COVID vaccines stations.
“As a result, a number of patients became very distressed, with regard to their conscience, since they did not want to cooperate in an act with which they disagreed.”
Alternatives
Outlining the SCHB’s position, Director of Research Dr Calum MacKellar told The Christian Institute: “We are concerned that the UK Government is not making any effort to develop alternative vaccines which were not derived from cells originating from aborted foetuses.
“It is just seeking to continue with its present arrangements, even though they may create a conflict of conscience to many in the UK.
“However, when vaccines are effective, but there are no alternatives, we believe that patients should still consider taking these vaccines. But patients should not be taken for granted.”
‘Ethics demand it’
Last month, the US Government announced an end to the use of tissue obtained from an aborted baby in research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
It stated: “NIH-supported research using human fetal tissue has declined steadily since 2019, with only 77 projects funded in Fiscal Year 2024. At the same time, advances in organoids, tissue chips, computational biology, and other cutting-edge platforms have created robust alternatives that can drive discovery while reducing ethical concerns.”
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said: “The science supports this shift, the ethics demand it, and we will apply this standard consistently across the Department.”
John Ling: Coronavirus – Part 1 (October 2020)