The Archdiocese of New Orleans is advising Catholics to avoid taking the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine because it is “morally compromised” since “abortion-derived cell lines” were used in its development.
“The archdiocese must instruct Catholics that the latest vaccine from Janssen/Johnson & Johnson is morally compromised as it uses the abortion-derived cell line in development and production of the vaccine as well as the testing,” a statement on the Archdiocese’s website read.
“We advise that if the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine is available, Catholics should choose to receive either of those vaccines rather than to receive the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of its extensive use of abortion-derived cell lines,” they added.
The archdiocese claims the decision is in line with guidance from the Vatican, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Catholic Bioethics Center. But, according to Yahoo News, none of the three have issued statements denouncing the new vaccine.
In December, the Vatican released a statement saying that “it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses” in the research and production process when “ethically irreproachable” vaccines aren’t available to the public. But it stressed that the “licit” uses of such vaccines “does not and should not in any way imply that there is a moral endorsement of the use of cell lines proceeding from aborted fetuses.”
The single dose J&J vaccine was granted emergency use authorization over the weekend. Four million doses have been shipped to states to be administered in the coming days.
