The Archdiocese of New Orleans says that the recently-approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is “morally compromised,” and advises Catholics to use ethical alternatives if available.
The pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute had determined that the vaccine used abortion-derived cell lines in design and development, production, and lab testing. The New Orleans archdiocese on Feb. 26 stated that the vaccine was “morally compromised” because of its connection with abortion.
However, the two other available COVID-19 vaccines are “morally acceptable,” the archdiocese said, while also not prohibiting Catholics from receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine if no other ethical alternative is available.
Ethicists have said that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were “ethically uncontroversial” as their connection to abortions in the design phase were extremely remote. However, some lab tests for the vaccines were conducted using aborted fetal cell lines. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, meanwhile, used aborted fetal cell lines in all phases.
“It is under the same guidance that the archdiocese must instruct Catholics that the latest vaccine from Janssen/Johnson & Johnson is morally compromised as it uses the abortion-derived cell line in development and production of the vaccine as well as the testing,” the archdiocese said. This ethical problem is similar to that of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which also used an abortion-derived cell line in the development and testing of their product.
Full story at Catholic News Agency.
The Bishop of San Diego says J&J is just fine. Do they need a ‘Get our story straight’ department?
As a chemist, when I read such things, my first questions are 1) who is writing the story, and do they have an ultimate objective, 2) what is their source, and 3) is their source cited, peer reviewed, or simply a “I heard from a friend from a friend”. When any group, though bearing a worthy cause in their view, makes blanket statements that non-critical thinkers will assume is ultimately correct (because it fits their world view), it diminishes their capacity to be listened to, valued and believed in the future once the truth comes out. Requiring citations and references before making such statements, or at least doing so AND even asking J&J to respond, smacks of an untruth trying to obtain some action. For this website, requiring said citations would go a long way before someone can say this is true or that is false.
This applies to many vaccines, not just the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Funny that the issue is only now being raised.