The Problem of Analyzing Cooperation in Evil and the COVID-19 Vaccines-Part 3: The Vaccines Can be Used without Committing Moral Evil. This Use Must Be Voluntary.

For anyone reading this post or listening to this episode of the podcast, the third in a series on cooperation in evil and the COVID-19 vaccines, I want to express once again that this is primarily intended for my parish as a way to access straightforward guidance on the Church’s moral stance on the vaccines. In the first post, I used a couple of examples to present the concept of cooperation in order to help everyone understand the reasoning of the Church’s position. In the second post, I talked about some of the background of the analysis of cooperation regarding vaccines. I gave a brief account, as well, of the development of the fetal cell lines from the two unborn children who were aborted deliberately. In this post, I will present information on how the vaccines are associated with these cell lines and, finally, present the authentic Catholic position on the vaccines utilizing the most authoritative statement to date from the Church’s magisterium.

There is a wide consensus among Catholic authorities, moralists, and many others that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna “do not require the use of any fetal cell cultures in order to manufacture (produce) the vaccine.” The quote is taken a document prepared by the North Dakota Department of Health which includes Catholic references. (https://www.health.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/COVID%20Vaccine%20Page/COVID-19_Vaccine_Fetal_Cell_Handout.pdf.)

Cells grown from the original fetal cells were used to verify that a cell could take up the mRNA and produce the required spike protein to stimulate the necessary immune response. However, the use of these fetal cells was not necessary. As a close colleague of mine, a physician and researcher, put it, “The use of these cells for testing the mRNA vaccines was totally unnecessary because there were and are better ways of testing the effectiveness of these vaccines (i.e., animal and human studies). Because the use of these cells was unnecessary, it does not promote future use of aborted fetuses for testing.” This last point has long been important in the moral analysis.

While the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines rely, unnecessarily, upon the fetal cells for testing, there is more concern with the Janssen Pharmaceuticals vaccine produced for Johnson and Johnson. This type of vaccine did require the use of fetal cell cultures. It appears that the PER.C6 cell line, produced specifically for this type of vaccine production, was used in the production and manufacture of the COVID-19 vaccine that the company is marketing. While some Catholic ethicists claim that there are no “fetal body parts” in this vaccine, there are others who claim that the vaccine does, in fact, contain human DNA. I will continue to be watchful on this point. The presence of human DNA would certainly serve to further the concern expressed in the March 2, 2021, statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Doctrine and Pro-Life Committee Chairmen in which they suggest a greater connection to the aborted tissue and a greater moral concern for the use of this vaccine. They recommend choosing one of the others, all things being equal, if one is able to choose. That recommendation, too, seems reasonable.

Now, I will turn to the doctrinal statement issued by the Church’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued December 17, 2020. Here is the essential point of the document for our purposes in these posts on the subject: “[W]hen ethically irreproachable Covid-19 vaccines are not available (e.g. in countries where vaccines without ethical problems are not made available to physicians and patients, or where their distribution is more difficult due to special storage and transport conditions, or when various types of vaccines are distributed in the same country but health authorities do not allow citizens to choose the vaccine with which to be inoculated) it is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process.” (emphasis in original)

The Vatican note, explicitly approved for publication by Pope Francis, indicates, as well, that “practical reason makes evident that vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary.” https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20201221_nota-vaccini-anticovid_en.html. Those who, in conscience, do not wish to be vaccinated must do their utmost to avoid becoming a vehicle for infecting others.

This is an important statement. It has magisterial authority. It is consistent with prior statements by the Church on the matter of vaccines stretching across the last three pontificates.

Should we have a new effort within the Pro-Life Movement to rid ourselves of these morally-tainted vaccines? Many within the Church are beginning to say “yes.” We will look at that soon.