COVID-19 Vaccines, Aborted Baby Cell-Lines and Catholic Moral Theology - Part F: Is it sinful to be innoculated with the COVID-19 Vaccines?
After all this research, I now come to the final question: Is it sinful for us to be innoculated with a COVID-19 vaccines?
There are three factors to consider: morality, safety and efficacy.
First the easy topic: safety and efficacy.
When the H1N1 vaccine was pushed through at an alarming rate, I had concerns and did researched both H1N1 and the vaccine impacts. For H1N1 this meant the likelihood of various impacts ... like death, cronic deficits, etc. For the vaccine I focused on adverse events.
I found that the risk /benefit ratio was about 1:1. Meaning the chances of an adverse reaction were on par with the chances of serious disease.
There was also a lot of pressure to receive the vaccine and, as usual, my wife and I took a cautious approach - first by waiting for results from the first batch of immunizations. What did we discover, that that particular version increased miscarriages in pregnant women. ... my wife at the time was pregnant.
The other version did not have this issue.
When we discussed it with our doctor, she tried to pressure us into getting the family immunized. We discussed the risk /benefits with her and when we decided then and there to not proceed we were in for a surprise. Once our decision was made she told us that her son was immunized and had an adverse reaction. The reaction was as bad as the worst H1N1 had to offer.
So we were very happy to not be part of that bit of history.
Now for the more important factor: Morality.
As the attached map shows, the Vatican's explanation is quite involved and difficult to follow in some places. I highlighted key line crossing elements in red, material coop / on the line in orange, safety in green and finally what we need to do in purple.
It all comes down to your intention and some form of sin of scandal.
For the people doing the research, there is a serious obligation to look for moral alternative production methods.
For people using the vaccines, there is a serious obligation to apply pressure to the governments to support research for these same moral alternative production methods. This was reiterated in a clear fashion by the Vatican in 2017 (see end of this post). I know that in 2017 LifeSite News and Catholic Culture felt that this was a shift. Having read both documents and broken them out --- the answer is no. Nothing is changed, they just highlighted what I noted in my own analysis. The cooperation is distantly remote.
For people in between these groups, it is more complicated. I am now one of these people as I am now peripherally involved in vaccine development and will be taking my own advice.
P^3
Further Reading:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/abortion-opponents-protest-covid-19-vaccines-use-fetal-cells
“The Catholic Church does not oppose vaccinations in principle, but it does consider as morally illicit the development of vaccines from aborted fetal tissues,” the handbook continued. “In 2005, the Vatican clarified the proper position of all Catholics on this matter, and the SSPX adheres to that declaration.” (Cruxnow article)
https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=41110
https://mycatholicdoctor.com/our-services/vaccines/
http://www.academyforlife.va/content/pav/en/the-academy/activity-academy/note-vaccini.html
Note on Italian vaccine issue
The Pontifical Academy for Life issued a document commenting on the Italian vaccine issue, in collaboration with the "Ufficio per la Pastorale della Salute" of Italian Bishops' Conference and the "Association of Italian Catholic Doctors", on July 31, 2017.
Clarifications on the medical and scientific nature of vaccination:
The lack of vaccinations of the population indicates a serious health risk of diffusing dangerous and often lethal diseases and infections that had been eradicated in the past, such as measles, rubella, and chickenpox. As noted by the Italian National Health Institute, since 2013 there has been a progressive trend in decreasing vaccination coverage. Vaccination coverage data for measles and rubella decreased from 90.4% in 2013 to 85.3% in 2015, contrary to WHO indications that recommend 95% vaccination coverage to eliminate virus circulation.
In the past, vaccines had been prepared using cells from aborted human fetuses, however currently used cell lines are very distant from the original abortions. The vaccines being referred to, the ones most commonly used in Italy, are those against rubella, chickenpox, polio, and hepatitis A. It should be noted that today it is no longer necessary to obtain cells from new voluntary abortions, and that the cell lines on which the vaccines are based in are derived solely from two fetuses originally aborted in the 1960’s. From the clinical point of view, it should also be reiterated that treatment with vaccines, despite the very rare side effects (the events that occur most commonly are mild and due to an immune response to the vaccine itself), is safe and effective. No correlation exists between the administration of the vaccine and the onset of Autism.
Reflections on the ethical nature of vaccines:
In 2005 the Pontifical Academy for Life published a document entitled: "Moral reflections about vaccines prepared from cells of aborted human fetuses" which, in the light of medical advances and current conditions of vaccine preparation, could soon be revised and updated.
Especially in consideration of the fact that the cell lines
currently used are very distant from the original abortions and no
longer imply that bond of moral cooperation indispensable for an
ethically negative evaluation of their use.{Tradical: This is a repeat of the original doc}
On the other hand, the moral obligation to guarantee the vaccination coverage necessary for the safety of others is no less urgent, especially the safety more vulnerable subjects such as pregnant women and those affected by immunodeficiency who cannot be vaccinated against these diseases.
As for the question of the vaccines that used or may have used cells coming from voluntarily aborted fetuses in their preparation, it must be specified that the "wrong" in the moral sense lies in the actions, not in the vaccines or the material itself.
The technical characteristics of the production of the vaccines most commonly used in childhood lead us to exclude that there is a morally relevant cooperation between those who use these vaccines today and the practice of voluntary abortion. Hence, we believe that all clinically recommended vaccinations can be used with a clear conscience and that the use of such vaccines does not signify some sort of cooperation with voluntary abortion. While the commitment to ensuring that every vaccine has no connection in its preparation to any material of originating from an abortion, the moral responsibility to vaccinate is reiterated in order to avoid serious health risks for children and the general population.
Rome, 31 July 2017
Pontifical Academy for Life - National Office for Health Pastoral Care (CEI) - Association of Italian Catholic Doctors
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