Coast Guard forces vaccine derived from aborted child

WorldNetDaily ^ | 1/13/07 | WorldNetDaily

[wagglebee]

A U.S. Coast Guard officer and devout Catholic has filed suit to prevent being forced to receive a vaccination derived from the lung of an aborted child after a higher ranking officer disputed his understanding of Church theology.

The Alliance Defense Fund filed a complaint last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Healy, charging the government with using its own arbitrary judgment of what constitutes Catholic theology while permitting religious exemptions to others, effectively discriminating against Healy's sincerely held religious beliefs.

Healy's request for religious exemption cited a 2005 letter from the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life which condemned the use of cell lines from abortions in vaccines and supported Catholics' right to refuse them while not requiring them to reject the medicines.

In May, 2007, Capt. Brent Pennington rejected Healy's request, saying Catholic teaching "does not state that these immunizations are against the religious tenets of the Catholic Church."

[wagglebee]

"Those who lay their life on the line to defend our shores are entitled to the same religious freedoms as anyone else," said ADF attorney Matt Bowman, according to the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. "Members of the U.S. military should never be forced to make an unconstitutional choice between honoring their country and honoring their faith."

Very well said.

[wagglebee]

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Catholic Ping

[Mr Ramsbotham]

What vaccine won't they force military members to receive?

[fetal heart beats by 21st day]

Who does Pennington think he is?

[MichiganWoodsman]

How is our Commander in Chief, President Bush, allowing our military to use vaccines that are derived from murdered babies. Then for him to allow the military to REQUIRE ITS ACCEPTANCE is disgusting! I’m not Catholic, but I couldn’t handle having that poor babies fluid pumped into my body.

[wagglebee]

Military Ping

[em2vn]

Chief, Operational & Clinical Medicine Division CAPT Brent Pennington (202) 475 - 5170.
He’s a doctor not a chaplain. How does he arrive at a decision concering Catholic theology?

[SandRat]

Interesting story. Military regulations say that one may not refuse medical treatment or vaccinations. To do so will put one in the position of willfully violating a direct order from a senior commissioned officer and that is a Courts-Martial Offense. Even then, the individual can be forcefully restrained and the treatment/vaccination done. The individual’s refusal to comply with the order for treatment/vaccination, even though resultingly completed under restraint, is still a Courts-Martial Offense.

[Last Dakotan]

How does he arrive at a decision concerning Catholic theology?

I can read the musings of amateur non-Catholic theologians telling Catholics what to believe here on FR everyday.

[mjwise]

Was this vaccine derived from a spontaneous abortion (i.e. miscarriage) or an intentional one? Seems like a pretty serious distinction to me.

[Blood of Tyrants]

I’ll bet that if he were Muslim, the Navy would have bowed to his faith.

[wagglebee]

Was this vaccine derived from a spontaneous abortion (i.e. miscarriage) or an intentional one? Seems like a pretty serious distinction to me.

From the article:

All members of the Coast Guard must be vaccinated against a broad spectrum of diseases. The requirement for all active-duty personnel to be inoculated against Hepatitis A was instituted in May 2006. While a vaccine derived from animal sources is awaiting FDA approval, the immunization procedure currently available in the U.S. is based on lung cells taken from an elective abortion performed at 14 weeks approximately 40 years ago.

[AppyPappy]

You guys will believe anything. Did it ever occur to you to ask if the vaccine really did come from aborted babies?

[toothfairy86]

If the vaccine was derived from a pig, would they still require a Muslim or Orthodox Jewish soldier to receive it?

[dawn53]

The requirement for all active-duty personnel to be inoculated against Hepatitis A was instituted in May 2006. While a vaccine derived from animal sources is awaiting FDA approval, the immunization procedure currently available in the U.S. is based on lung cells taken from an elective abortion performed at 14 weeks approximately 40 years ago.

Am I reading this right? The abortion was 40 years ago?

[beelzepug]

Where would that abortion have even been legal forty years ago?

[exDemMom]

In response to many of the questions about this vaccine:

The cells used to derive the vaccine are lung cells derived from a male 14 week old fetus aborted intentionally in 1966 for “psychological” reasons of the “mother.”

The cell line is called “MRC-5.” One of the interesting results of a Google search of this cell line was that, in 2006 (I believe), several theologians met to discuss the morality of continuing to use these cells for the purpose of making vaccines. Their decision was that, since the baby was killed so long ago, and the existing cells are expected to remain useful for several more years, that it is ok to continue using them. However, when these cells run out, it would be highly unethical to kill another baby for more cells.

[Lauren BaRecall]

Rubella vaccinations used to be made from cell lines developed from chicken eggs. For some years now, cell lines developed from an aborted baby have been used. If I remember correctly the American baby was a boy, and the British baby (for GB manufactured vaccines) was a girl.

There have been complications from side effects from these vaccines that did not exist with the egg derived ones. Unfortunately, the egg type is no longer manufactured, so parents don’t have a choice for their children, for either moral or medical reasons.