Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 19:2 (Fall 2022)
Article: Is The Use Of Vaccines Developed From Abortion-Derived Fetal Cell Lines Formal Or Material Complicity In Evil?
Author: J. Alan Branch

Is The Use Of Vaccines Developed From Abortion-Derived Fetal Cell Lines Formal Or Material Complicity In Evil?

J. Alan Branch

J. Alan Branch serves as professor of Christian Ethics at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri.

Five normally-recommended vaccines along with some COVID-19 vaccines are currently derived from abortion-derived fetal cell lines: Varicella (chickenpox), rubella (the “R” in the MMR vaccine), hepatitis A, one version of the shingles vaccine, and one preparation of rabies vaccine. Additionally, of the three Covid-19 vaccines currently approved for use in the US – Janssen,1 Moderna, and Pfizer-BioNTech2 – the Janssen vaccine utilized abortion-derived fetal cell lines in development and design, confirmatory lab tests, and production. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines do not use such cell lines in design or production but did utilize them in the confirmatory lab test phase of development. The UK has also approved the Oxford / AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine which uses abortion-derived fetal cell lines in development and design, confirmatory lab tests, and production.

Some pro-life groups, such as the Personhood Alliance,3 insist that using vaccines developed from abortion-derived fetal cell lines is morally illicit. Other pro-life groups, such as the Christian Medical and Dental Associations,4 contend it is morally licit to use such vaccines. This paper will argue that while the use of vaccines

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developed from abortion-derived fetal cell lines does not necessarily imply formal or material cooperation with evil, the vaccines raise concerns related to the sanctity of human life. To defend this thesis, the paper will begin with a summary of the abortion-derived fetal cell lines and the vaccines developed from them. Next, the paper will dispel the myth that fetuses are being aborted today to supply an ongoing source for vaccines. Then, the paper will clarify that using vaccines developed from abortion-derived fetal cell lines clearly does not entail formal cooperation with evil. Finally, while the question of material cooperation with evil is more challenging, the paper will argue that using vaccines developed from abortion-derived fetal cell lines does not entail material cooperation with evil.

The broader debate regarding the anti-vaccination movement will not be addressed. This paper operates on the premise that anti-vaccination arguments are unconvincing and based on poor argumentation, inaccurate interpretation of data, bad data, or conspiracy theories. Vaccine...