Roman Catholic leaders in St. Louis and New Orleans advise Catholics that Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, recently approved for use in the US, is “ morally compromised ” because it is produced using a cell line derived of an aborted fetus.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans says the decision to get a vaccine is one of individual conscience. In its statement late last week, it stopped advising Catholics not to take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but added that Catholics should opt for coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna or Pfizer – if they are available.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis on Tuesday encouraged Catholics to seek out the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and avoid the Johnson & Johnson version if possible. Like the statement by the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the St. Louis statement called the Johnson & Johnson vaccine “morally compromised.” However, the St. Louis statement emphasized that Catholics can get that vaccine “in good conscience” if no other alternative is available.
Later Tuesday, a statement by the chairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Commissions on Teaching and Abortion Issues issued a statement reiterating the moral concerns. It said the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are preferred “if one has the option of choosing a vaccine.”
While Johnson & Johnson does not dispute church officials’ claim that an abortion-derived cell line is used in its manufacturing, Johnson & Johnson released a statement on Tuesday emphasizing that there is no fetal tissue in its vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine is made using a harmless cold virus called an adenovirus, the same technology it used to produce a successful Ebola vaccine. The adenovirus is grown using a so-called immortalized cell line, and the virus is then extracted and purified.
There are several types of cell lines that were created decades ago from fetal tissue and are widely used in medical manufacturing, but the cells in them today are clones of the early cells, not the original tissue.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States said in a January statement that “abortion” cell lines were used to test Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines, but not in their development or production.
The archdiocese’s statements sparked renewed religious discussions about the vaccine and the use of abortion-derived cells. In December, the Vatican said that “it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have utilized cell lines from aborted fetuses” in the research and manufacturing process when “ethically flawless” vaccines are not available to the public.
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Pope Francis has often spoken of the need to ensure that vaccines are widely available, especially for the poor and marginalized. And last month, a decree signed by the governor of the Vatican city-state said that Vatican workers who opt out of vaccination without a proven medical reason could be subject to sanctions, including dismissal.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans released its statement Friday, the day before the Food and Drug Administration approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for use in the US.
Asked Tuesday about the New Orleans Archdiocese’s statement, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards – a rare anti-abortion Democrat – stressed the need for people to use one of the available approved vaccines to stop the spread of the virus.
Edwards said he spoke with Archbishop Gregory Aymond about the statement on Sunday. “I am not reading his statement as an outright message to people who are Catholic or otherwise not to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” Edwards said.
“I encourage everyone to take the first vaccine available to them.”
He noted a statement from Bishop Michael Duca of Baton Rouge on Monday.
Duca acknowledged “moral concerns” about the newly approved vaccine. But he added, “If, for a reasonable circumstance, you can only get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, feel free to do so for your safety and for the common good.”
This is comparable to the guidelines issued by the United States Conference of Bishops in January. Given that the COVID-19 virus poses serious health risks, it may be morally acceptable to obtain a vaccine using abortion-derived cell lines if there are no other available vaccines that are comparable in safety and efficacy unrelated to abortion, “the January guideline said. said.
Reporters Luis Henao of the Associated Press in New York, Jim Salter in St. Louis, Lauran Neergaard in Alexandria, Virginia, and Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, Louisiana contributed to this story.