How fetal cells from the 1970s power medical innovation today

Author: AFP
21.10.2020

It is no secret that thousands of laboratories around the world use cells derived from a fetus that was aborted decades ago to develop vital medicines.

But it is a contentious topic in the US, where conservatives and anti-abortion activists have long deemed the practice unethical.

Continued: https://today.rtl.lu/news/science-and-environment/a/1598463.html


Australia – COVID-19 vaccine: Archbishop Anthony Fisher condemns Oxford vaccine

Australia’s most powerful Catholic Archbishop has penned a letter warning a COVID vaccine presents an “unacceptable ethical dilemma”.

Samantha Maiden
August 24, 2020

Australia’s most powerful Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher has sparked outrage after suggesting the COVID-19 vaccine could create an “ethical dilemma” for Catholics who may refuse to take it because it uses a cell line from an aborted foetus in the 1970s.

The Catholic leader has outlined his “disappointment” in correspondence with Prime Minister Scott Morrison that has sparked fears it could encourage Catholics to refuse to take the vaccine on religious grounds.

Continued: https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/covid19-vaccine-archbishop-anthony-fisher-condemns-oxford-vaccine/news-story/7b94e83a5491b6a76964d9bddfcb495d


Australia – Religious leaders’ ethical concerns of vaccine misplaced, expert says

By Matt Bungard
August 24, 2020

Three of Australia's leading religious voices have written to the Prime Minister with their concerns that the COVID-19 vaccine will be "ethically tainted" by aborted fetal cells.

Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies and Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Australia Makarios Griniezakis raised concerns about the deal with AstraZeneca that would ensure Australians would be among the first in the world to receive the Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine if human trials are successful.

Continued: https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/religious-leaders-ethical-concerns-of-vaccine-misplaced-expert-says-20200824-p55otg.html


Trump Just Stacked A Fetal Cell Research Panel With Abortion Opponents

Seen as the “gold standard” in many areas of medical research, fetal cells are widely used in coronavirus vaccine research.

Dan Vergano, BuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on July 31, 2020

On Friday, a Trump administration panel erected to judge the ethics of federally funded research relying on human fetal cells met more than a year after it was first announced. Just hours before the meeting, the panel was revealed to be stacked with abortion opponents hostile to such research.

Human fetal cells are widely used in medical research to develop vaccines — notably in at least a half dozen current candidate coronavirus vaccines — as well for studying diseases including AIDS. The National Institutes of Health Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board was initially announced in June of last year, putting a hold on grant applications for medical research involving human fetal cells. It followed the Trump administration’s moves to cancel related federal research contracts and audit human fetal cell research.

Continued: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/trump-fetal-cell-ethics-panel-abortion