Vaccines and Fetal Tissue

There has been a certain level of controversy within some religious communities regarding the connection of certain vaccines to fetal tissue. The concern is connected to the fact that a number of vaccines are reported to have been derived from a line of cells that were originally derived from an aborted fetus. Varivax, the chicken pox vaccine, is one of these. The U.S. company, Merck Co., manufactures Varivax today. The history of Varivax was that it was originally derived from fetal tissue cells in the 1960's, with the first iteration of this vaccine available in 1974. Later vaccines have derived from this same stem cell line, though they are now many generations removed.

MRC-5 and WI-38

The two fetal tissue stem cell lines used as a medium for a number of other vaccines are MRC-5 and WI-38. Some groups, such as Right to Life www.rtl.org , state that other drug manufacturers, such as GlaxoSmithKline www.gsk.com currently produce vaccines that are derived from these cells lines. In fact, if you read their vaccine product monographs you will see mention of these cell lines.

Elective or Not?

Part of the discord around this issue relates to whether or not the fetuses were aborted in an elective fashion, or were due to a medical condition. The Right to Life organization cites quotes from two scientists and one from Nature magazine, that indicate that it was elective abortions that were the basis for the MRC-5 and WI-38 cells, with, in one cases, it being due to the mother's preference not to bring her fetus to term due to the fetus having a genetic abnormality. This component is much more difficult to confirm through other sources and journals.

Discord

It should be noted that, even within religious communities where there is concern about this issue, that level of concern widely varies. It is likely tempered, to some degree, by the benefit of the vaccine to humans, and the suffering that such vaccines prevent. However, those with very strict doctrines on abortions and the use of fetal tissue, may not feel that this ultimate benefit outweighs the original (alleged) destruction of a human fetus.