Vaccines present moral struggle for some

Vaccines intended to stem the global coronavirus pandemic have created a moral conundrum among some Catholics, especially the use of the recently approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, along with the Holy See, agree on the moral difficulties presented by the J&J vaccine but note that it can be taken when no other options are available.

Fueling the controversy is the question of fetal line cells. 

“The moral question arises given that (all three) vaccines have some kind of very remote, historical connection via cell lines to abortion. What are those who are opposed to abortion to do?” said Dr. John Meinert, associate professor of theology at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University. “Can we do this in good conscience? Is it somehow scandalous?”

Meinert explained the cells were originally taken from the kidney and lungs of aborted babies in the early 1960s, 1966 and 1973.

The cells are kept in labs and can be split and duplicated, he said. Cells taken from a cell line can also be sent to other labs where they are kept and used for many other types of testing.

“The cells are cultivated so it becomes an independent cell line and is widely used in medical research and vaccine development,” Meinert said. “For example, Tylenol is tested on a fetal cell line. It is used for testing or development in some cancer treatments and other areas because we need some scientific way of finding out how certain medications interact with human cells.”

He said the use of fetal cell lines is not limited to COVID-19 vaccines, but they have also been used in other vaccines, including the MMR vaccine administered to young children. 

Meinert is uncertain as to what has caused the recent uproar given that Catholics have a consistent and magisterially taught position on the use of the cell lines. 

Meinert said the caveat separating Johnson & Johnson is the company uses the cells in vaccine development and production while Pfizer and Moderna limit the use of the cells for testing only, a critical distinction for some. 

“If for any reasonable circumstance you are only able to receive the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, you should feel free to do so for your safety and for the common good,” Bishop Michael G. Duca said.

“Part of the difficulty with this is that all of the considerations for using the vaccines or not are circumstantial: it could appear to be scandalous, leading people to believe that abortion is not a big deal, consent for medical research is not important, the fetus is not a person, or (as Catholics) we will be less likely to work against abortion.” Meinert said. “I agree with Bishop Duca. I don’t think that the chance of these is high because the connection between using the cell line and ongoing abortion is very tenuous, at best. And I don’t think that anyone really is going to believe the church doesn’t think abortion is a big deal.”

In statement released March 1 Bishop Duca acknowledged COVID-19 continues to ravage populations, claiming more than 2.5 million lives worldwide and a death total nearing 10,000 in Louisiana. 

“Thankfully, vaccines have been developed to reduce the spread and effects of this virulent killer,” the bishop said. 

He noted that he had previously determined the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to be “justifiable and morally acceptable ways to help end this pandemic.”

He acknowledged the moral concerns Johnson & Johnson presents but the bishop quoted from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which affirms that a “serious health danger could justify use of ‘a vaccine which was developed using cell lines of illicit origin, while keeping in mind that everyone has the duty to make known their disagreement and to ask that their healthcare system make other types of vaccines available.”

Bishop Duca said that given the current circumstances and to protect ourselves and one another, his guidance to the faithful is to accept as their first choices the vaccines created by Pfizer and Moderna.

“But if for any reasonable circumstance you are only able to receive the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, you should feel free to do so for your safety and for the common good,” the bishop said. “In addition, I have consulted with Catholic health care representatives, and I understand and appreciate their serious challenges as to the acquisition and equitable distribution of all three vaccines. I therefore support their policy of administering any of the vaccines as circumstances require.”

Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in Baton Rouge, in a response to a question from The Catholic Commentator, welcomed Bishop Duca’s prayerful guidance and leadership regarding COVID-19 vaccines as justifiable and morally acceptable ways to end the pandemic.

“Because of the common good associated with vaccine use and the serious health danger of COVID-19, the Catholic Church has permitted the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while advocating for an end to this method of vaccine development and manufacturing,” the statement said. “(Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System) is currently using the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as they are available and in addition will receive the J&J vaccine as part of our equitable and comprehensive response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Louisiana Right to Life Executive Director Benjamin Clapper urged Catholics to help seek a solution to this dilemma by calling for the development of better cell lines.  

“Moving forward, on behalf of concerned citizens in Louisiana, we implore leaders in government and science to pursue 100% ethical vaccines that do not use these abortion-derived cell lines either in the development or production of vaccines,” Clapper said in a statement March 2.

Meinert said he believes most people likely will not have a choice as to what vaccine they will be administered. 

Bishop Duca encouraged the faithful of Baton Rouge “to take this moral evaluation to heart as you make your decision to receive the coronavirus vaccinations as they become available. Being vaccinated should be considered as an act of charity toward others in our communities.”