Vaccines that use human fetal cells draw fire

Senior Catholic leaders in the United States and Canada, along with other antiabortion groups, are raising ethical objections to promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates that are manufactured using cells derived from human fetuses electively aborted decades ago. They have not sought to block government funding for the vaccines, which include two candidate vaccines that the Trump administration plans to support with an investment of up to $1.7 billion, as well as a third candidate made by a Chinese company in collaboration with Canada's National Research Council (NRC). But they are urging funders and policymakers to ensure that companies develop other vaccines that do not rely on human fetal cell lines and, in the United States, asking the government to "incentivize" firms to make only vaccines that don't rely on fetal cells.

"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," the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and 20 other religious, medical, and political organizations wrote to Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in April. "Thankfully, other [COVID-19] vaccines ... utilize cell lines not connected to unethical procedures and methods."

"We urge your government to fund the development of vaccines that do not create an ethical dilemma for many Canadians," wrote Richard Gagnon, archbishop of Winnipeg and president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and 17 other antiabortion religious, medical, and political groups and individuals in a 21 May letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "The ... manufacture of vaccines using such ethically-tainted human cell lines demonstrates profound disrespect for the dignity of the human person."