Children of God for Life Backs CMA Initiative: End Aborted Fetal Vaccines

For Immediate Release: May 16, 2006

Contact: Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director
1-877-488-LIFE or email debi@cogforlife.org

Children of God for Life Backs CMA Initiative: End Aborted Fetal Vaccines

(Largo, FL) Children of God for Life is standing staunchly behind the Catholic Medical Association on their recent statement and press release calling for vaccine manufacturers to produce vaccines that are “not associated with abortion”.

For years Children of God for Life has called on physicians and pro-life groups across the country to pressure the government and pharmaceutical industry in their Campaign for Ethical Vaccines, which currently has over 550,000 supporters.

“United, we have the ability to put an end to this immoral practice,” noted Children of God for Life Executive Director, Debi Vinnedge. “We believe all parents and physicians should have access to medical treatments that do not violate their moral conscience.”

Because of such deeply held religious convictions by the public, the group recently filed a formal appeal to the FDA to allow personal import of the morally acceptable alternative for rubella from Japan for several hundred US families.

“The CDC announced last year that rubella has been eliminated in the US, so while these families are currently abstaining without significant risk, they still want to protect their children and society and to prevent a resurgence of the disease in the future,” Vinnedge said.

While there is no ethical alternative for rubella in the US at present, there is for mumps. With the recent outbreak in Iowa, Vinnedge is urging pro-lifers to take advantage of the separate Mumpsvax vaccine, which uses chick embryo, not aborted fetal cell lines. “It’s a matter of picking up the phone and ordering the vaccine from Merck. What a perfect opportunity to show the industry our preference for a morally produced vaccine!”

Mrs. Vinnedge was especially pleased with the CMA support for clear labeling and informed consent on all products using aborted fetal cell lines. Her group introduced the Fair Labeling and Informed Consent Act to members of Congress last year and they are currently seeking primary sponsors for the legislation. (See www.cogforlife.org/flica.htm )

“This bill will open the market for other pharmaceutical companies that want to provide effective ethical alternatives,” said Vinnedge. “We are grateful to have our Catholic physicians backing a plan that allows consumers to make ethical choices when purchasing all medical products, not just vaccines.”

“The CMA statements espouse the very heart of our mission”, Vinnedge said. Noting the commitment by the USCCB Pro Life Secretariat office “to help make alternative vaccines readily available in the United States”, she added, “They have set the stage along with the CMA for what we hope will produce some very dramatic changes in the near future.”

To read the CMA statement: http://www.cathmed.org or http://www.cogforlife.org/cmastatement.pdf

To read the CMA press release: http://www.cogforlife.org/cmapress.htm

For Immediate Release May 16, 2006 Contact: Dr Steven White, CMA 386-252-3985

CATHOLIC MEDICAL ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR

VACCINES NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ABORTION

NEEDHAM, MA -- The Catholic Medical Association – the nation’s largest professional organization of Catholic doctors – is calling on the nation’s vaccine makers to develop, as soon as possible, vaccines that are not cultivated on cells taken from aborted fetuses.

According to a recent statement by the CMA, “physicians and patients are permitted to use the vaccines when no effective alternative is available.” In addition, they noted, “It is right [permissible] to abstain from using these vaccines if it can be done without significant risk to their health.”

However, when alternative versions of these vaccines are available, “they must be used in place of those produced by immoral means,” CMA states.

Vaccines that have been derived from cell lines originally prepared from tissue taken from voluntarily aborted fetuses include those for rubella, Hepatitis A, as well as others.

“The bottom line is that vaccines derived from abortions should mainly be avoided and used only when alternatives are unavailable,” said Robert Saxer, CMA’s executive vice president. “But there is really no reason why those alternatives should be unavailable,” Saxer continued. “The pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the vaccines have the ability and know-how to produce versions of these vaccines which do not depend on cell lines from aborted fetuses. They should be pressured to develop those vaccines to meet the health needs of those who have religious and ethical objections to abortion.”

“In addition,” Saxer pointed out, “The FDA has the authority to allow for the licensing and importation of safe and effective ethical alternative vaccines such as Takahashi (rubella) and Aimmugen (Hepatitis A), and it has a moral duty to exercise that authority.”

Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities welcomed the CMA statement. “The Catholic bishops’ Pro-Life Secretariat looks forward to working with the Catholic Medical Association and other organizations to help make alternative vaccines readily available in the United States,” said Mr. Doerflinger. “In this way we can ensure that concerned Catholics and other pro-life Americans will not confront the dilemma of having to accept a vaccine based on morally illicit sources, or risk compromising the health of themselves and others.”

The current situation in Iowa, where there has been an outbreak of mumps, highlights the ongoing urgency to resolve the issue of vaccines derived from abortions. Part of the vaccine being used (MMR) is derived from tissue obtained from abortion, and there is no alternative available for that component in the US. This has raised concerns about its use among many residents of the state.

“The concerns raised in Iowa show that this is a real issue for many people, and that pharmaceutical companies and the FDA have a responsibility to address these concerns and provide vaccines that can be used by all,” Saxer said.

The entire CMA statement can be read at: http://www.cathmed.org or here if the link is unavailable

Catholic Medical Association Wants Vaccines Not Using Cells From Abortions Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 16, 2006

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Catholic Medical Association and other pro-life advocates are calling for companies to produce new vaccines that do not use cells from babies who have been aborted. The call comes after a vaccine with such cells was used in Iowa to treat a recent outbreak of the mumps.
Part of the vaccine used in Iowa (MMR) to treat the outbreak derived from tissue obtained from abortion, and there is no alternative available for that component in the U.S, according to CMA.

That the vaccine relies on killing babies before birth to cure others is causing problems for pro-life residents in Iowa.

"The concerns raised in Iowa show that this is a real issue for many people," explains Robert Saxer, CMA's executive vice president. "Pharmaceutical companies and the FDA have a responsibility to address these concerns and provide vaccines that can be used by all."

But the mumps vaccine is not the only one that relies on cells from aborted babies.

Vaccines that have been derived from cell lines originally prepared from tissue taken from voluntarily aborted babies include those for rubella, Hepatitis A, as well as others.

"The bottom line is that vaccines derived from abortions should mainly be avoided and used only when alternatives are unavailable," Saxer said. "But there is really no reason why those alternatives should be unavailable."

"The pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the vaccines have the ability and know-how to produce versions of these vaccines which do not depend on cell lines from aborted fetuses," he explained. "They should be pressured to develop those vaccines to meet the health needs of those who have religious and ethical objections to abortion."

Saxer also called on the FDA to allow for the licensing and importation of safe and effective ethical alternative vaccines such as Takahashi (rubella) and Aimmugen (Hepatitis A).

Richard Doerflinger, a pro-life spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, agrees with Saxer's concerns.

He said the nation's Catholic bishops will work with CMA and other pro-life groups to help make alternative vaccines readily available.

"In this way we can ensure that concerned Catholics and other pro-life Americans will not confront the dilemma of having to accept a vaccine based on morally illicit sources, or risk compromising the health of themselves and others," Doerflinger said.

Related web sites:
Catholic Medical Association - http://www.cathmed.org

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