Hi Friends,
Since everyone else has stuck their hands into the hornet’s nest of the vaccine debate, I figured it was time for me to do so as well. Honestly, the only reason I am getting into the fight is because I have heard so little about the pro-life ethics surrounding the MMR vaccine.
As far as my family is concerned, the bottom line is that we are Christians, and for us that means we are pro-life. I know there is some debate even within the Church regarding the sanctity of life, but we have firm convictions within our home that being a Christian requires us to give up our lives for one another, not take lives so that we can live or be more comfortable.
So what does being pro-life have to do with the MMR shot?
Well, everything. Here are the facts.
The MMR shot is a combination of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines. This combination vaccine includes three human cell lines from aborted fetal tissue. These cell lines are (RA273, WI-38, & MRC-5).
When we receive the MMR vaccine, we are injecting aborted fetal tissue into our bodies. Specifically, the fetal tissue from the MRC-5 cell line comes from the lungs of a baby that was aborted in 1966. This tissue has been cloned to provide cell tissue for at least thirteen of our most common vaccines in America.
Interestingly, there are measles and mumps alternative vaccines that do not include a human fetal cell line. So, why not get the measles and mumps separately then? Well, the maker of the vaccine, Merck, will no longer make separate vaccines. If you want to protect your children against the measles, you need the MMR.
Cloned cells from the lungs of an aborted baby doesn’t sound very pro-life or even ‘green’ for that matter.
“Moral versions of Measles and Mumps are currently UNAVAILABLE as of January 2010 – tell Merck to provide them!” –Children of God for Life
Even if you wanted a measles vaccine that is ethical from the pro-life belief, you can’t have it unless you go to countries like Japan.
Now that we have the facts, let’s take a look at the remainder of the argument.
Is it really unethical to use a vaccine that includes aborted fetal cells? Anyone who is pro-life would have to say, ‘no’. However, this cell line comes from 1966, so that’s a long time ago. It isn’t like cloning this cell line is aborting the baby all over again, is it? I’ll let you decide that one for yourself.
We must also decide whether or not the possibility of saving our children from the measles is worth the price of a few abortions (the MRC-5 isn’t the only fetal cell line in the MMR vaccine). Only a few babies had to die to protect millions. This seems like a pretty good exchange unless you actually consider the living human that did not chose to lay down their life for our sake.
Our children are a gift from God. Having two children of my own, I understand the vaccine struggle. I am not inherently against vaccines. I often look at the ‘anti-vaxxers’ and wonder where they got their info.
However, the truth is out there, and my main issue with vaccines is that we are still using human fetal tissue because it is convenient, not necessary.
I will not use these vaccines on principle. I want to honor the life that was taken out of the womb for the sake of science. Also, if we don’t live according to our principles and convictions- are we really living at all?
I ask again, is the MMR ethical?
I will let you decide.
Click here for a chart of other vaccines that include aborted fetal tissue. *Included in this chart is a list of ethical versions of the vaccines that are available to U.S. citizens.
J.S. Marek 