By Nate Gross, 09/February/2021
Let me start by saying that the following has been written to those who claim to be Christians and/or pro-life, (e.g. protecting the unborn child). If neither of these labels apply to you, then this debate will most likely not be of interest to you.
The Covid-19 shot has been lauded as a miracle of science and many Christians are singing its praises for the salvation it will bring [1]. However, there is a dark side to this story for which every Christian must be aware so that a morally informed decision can be made as to whether one should be getting the shot or not. Christians are to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves (Matt. 10:16) and trained to discern good from evil (Heb. 5:14). Yet it seems Christians increasingly choose to be intellectual lemmings, ignoring how soaked in the mire of this world we have become. They have little clue how to parse scripture against the world beliefs that surround them.
Some groups have been voicing the health and scientific concerns of the Covid-19 shots and their underlying technology, but for this discussion we will be ignoring those concerns and only focus on the moral issues.
Let’s get a little background. Stem cell technology has been gaining traction in the development and treatment of various diseases, and though you may have heard the term, you may not actually understand what stem cell technology is. Put simply, there is a type of cell that is, essentially, blank, but contains all of the genetic code to become any type of cell found in the human body. These cells are found in abundance in unborn babies because their bodies are in the process of developing the numerous specialized parts which differentiate the various organs, bones, and tissue. Scientists have discovered that they can harvest, clone, and then use these stem cells to make any tissues they need. The dark side is that out of the numerous lines of stem cells one can order, almost all have been harvested from “electively aborted” babies, this means that a baby was killed and cut up to be used for science.
To further simplify our discussion, we are only going to look at two of the Covid-19 shots now available manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna. Highly simplified, the shots work by taking mRNA, wrapping it in a lipid (e.g. fat or oil), and injecting it into a person. Once injected, the lipid droplets stick to cells and the mRNA is taken inside. What is mRNA? It is messenger RNA, a single-stranded copy of a gene copied off DNA. Think of it like this. If one were to build a skyscraper, does the builder take the master plan for the building out to the construction site each day where it can get ruined or blown away by the wind? No, one makes a copy and simplifies it by removing any information that could confuse the construction foreman. In the case of the Covid-19 shot, the mRNA is used to program the ribosomes in the cells to make a specific spike protein, which eventually leads to a way for the immune system to identify and destroy the SARS-CoV-2 virus [2].
The moral dilemma is that Pfizer and Moderna have disclosed that they used stem cell lines HEK-293 [3] and PER.C6 [4] in the research and development phases [5]. HEK-293 was derived from the kidney of a healthy baby in the Netherlands electively aborted in 1972 and PER.C6 originated from human embryonic retina cells from a normal 18-week baby aborted baby in 1985 [6].
Both Pfizer and Moderna have noted that they do not “require” the use of fetal stem cells in the production of individual doses [5, 7]. Of course, this is semantic wordplay as the original research did use stem cells taken from the aborted babies, it just means that you will not be injecting any of those cells into your body.
The moral question remaining for each Christian to answer is this. Is using a technology that was made possible by the murder of two babies to harvest their cells for cloning morally acceptable?
Proponents of the shots argue that since the abortions happened decades ago and the aborted baby stem cells were only used in the testing and development, this makes it morally acceptable.
If the use of old stem cell lines today does not promote or encourage the harvesting of more fetal tissues from aborted babies tomorrow then, arguably, we might justify it for the “greater good.” An additional question must, therefore, be asked, “Are electively aborted babies being used to generate new research and medical products today?”
In the cases of the HEK-293 [3] and PER.C6 [4] stem cell lines, two babies were electively aborted at a hospital or clinic, and their bodies used for research. However, due to the pressure from the pro-life movement, this form of harvesting stem cells has fallen out of favor today and many point to this fact as a reason that it is morally acceptable to continue the use of these stem cell lines. To get ahead of the aborted baby stem cell controversy, stem cells are now created and harvested in the lab. The embryonic sources are derived from human eggs and sperm (no human womb) in which the embryo is conceived via in vitro fertilization with the sole purpose of harvesting tissue for new cell lines at days 4 and 5 [8].
The Bible teaches that life begins at conception [9]. Thus, a 4 to 5-day old petri dish baby is no different from one conceived in the womb – and this directly answers our original question: Yes, electively aborted babies, via petri dish culture, are being used to generate new research and medical products today. The only distinction between abortions of 30-40 years ago versus today is the age of the child at the time of harvest. No matter how far removed, both fetal and embryonic stem cell technologies do encourage further development of the technology and perpetration of new evils on the innocent [10].
How will you, the reader, answer our original question: Is using a technology that was made possible by the murder of two babies morally acceptable?” Is moving the harvest to the petri dish more acceptable? Christian, the facts have been presented and now it is up to you [11]. Will you choose to trust in God and follow His ways, or blaze your own trail and trust in science?
REFERENCES:
[1] D. Crary, “Anti-abortion faith leaders support use of COVID-19 vaccines,” PBS, 10 JAN 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/anti-abortion-faith-leaders-support-use-of-covid-19-vaccines. [Accessed 04 FEB 2021].
[2] J. C. Carl Zimmer, “Explained: a visual guide to how the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine works,” The Irish Times, 17 DEC 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/explained-a-visual-guide-to-how-the-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-works-1.4436433. [Accessed 04 FEB 2021].
[3] “HEK 293 cells,” Wikipedia, 02 FEB 2021. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HEK_293_cells. [Accessed 04 FEB 2021].
[4] “PER.C6 Cell Lines,” Creative Biolabs, 04 FEB 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.gmp-creativebiolabs.com/per-c6-cell-lines_74.htm. [Accessed 04 FEB 2021].
[5] N. D. Health, “COVID-19 Vaccines & Fetal Cell Lines,” 29 DEC 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.health.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/COVID%20Vaccine%20Page/COVID-19%20Vaccine%20Fetal%20Cell%20Handout.pdf. [Accessed 04 FEB 2021].
[6] C. Novielli, “A guide to human fetal cell lines from aborted children used in vaccine development,” Live Action, 30 DEC 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.liveaction.org/news/guide-fetal-cell-lines-aborted-vaccine-development/. [Accessed 09 FEB 2021].
[7] R. Randall, “3 Bioethical Questions About COVID-19 Vaccines,” Christianity Today, 13 JAN 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/january-web-only/covid-19-vaccine-christian-ethical-questions-fetal-cells.html. [Accessed 04 FEB 2021].
[8] “Myths and Misconceptions About Stem Cell Research,” CIRM, FEB 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.cirm.ca.gov/patients/myths-and-misconceptions-about-stem-cell-research. [Accessed 04 FEB 2021].
[9] D. T. Mitchell, “When Does Life Begin?,” Answers in Genesis, 26 AUG 2010. [Online]. Available: https://answersingenesis.org/sanctity-of-life/when-does-life-begin/. [Accessed 04 FEB 2021].
[10] “Stem Cells Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Adult Stem Cells, HESC), By Application, By Technology, By Therapy, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 – 2027,” Grand View Research, FEB 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/stem-cells-market. [Accessed 04 FEB 2021].
[11] J. Piper, “Can I Take a Vaccine Made from Aborted Babies?,” Desiring God, 04 JAN 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/can-i-take-a-vaccine-made-from-aborted-babies. [Accessed 09 FEB 2021].