With more than 2.1 million reported cases of the coronavirus in America alone, a rush to find a cure has ensued. And according to the World Health Organization, there are currently around 120 potential COVID-19 vaccines in development. The good news is that these companies are on track to have a vaccine ready by the end of 2020 or early 2021. But what do we do if this vaccine requires us to compromise our morals?
Unfortunately, many of the vaccines currently being developed are using cell lines from aborted fetuses from the late 20th century. Cell lines are often used in vaccines, as they help grow viral proteins, which are what make the vaccines work. The US government has given grants up to and totaling $2 billion to fund this vaccine research using fetal cell lines.
Although this is discouraging for those in the pro-life movement, there are a few hopeful vaccines being tested. Vaccines from Novavax, Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Sinovac are being tested using cell lines not retrieved from aborted fetuses. One of these vaccine contestants, from Novavax, “will initiate its first in-human trial in May.” The potential vaccine, NVX-CoV2373, “was shown to be highly immunogenic in animal models measuring spike protein-specific antibodies.” This vaccine has a lot of potential to work, which is why we, as pro-lifers, must be forthright in advocating for it and other vaccines free of aborted fetal cells.
With so many options for a moral, pro-life COVID-19 vaccine, it is our responsibility to discourage the production of unethical vaccines and fight for the ones free of abortion. To petition the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that an ethical vaccine is made available, click here.