Archdiocese: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine 'Morally Compromised'

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked

Story at-a-glance

  • New Orleans archdiocese has called the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine "morally compromised," since it uses aborted fetus cell lines for development and production of the shot
  • Six vaccine makers are using at least one abortion-derived cell line in the development or testing of COVID-19 vaccines, including AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson
  • The reported side effects from the vaccines include migraines, anaphylaxis, seizures, paralysis and sudden death. Experts believe long-term effects from the gene therapy may include prion diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancers, kidney diseases and microvascular injuries to the brain, liver and heart
  • Pfizer has been called a “bully” as it leverages the vaccine against demands that countries use sovereign assets to cover legal liabilities, while the U.S. gives vaccine makers complete indemnity against damages

WARNING!

This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.

The New Orleans Archdiocese has warned Catholics that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is “morally compromised” as the production of the vaccine uses aborted fetal cell lines.1

This is the latest concern in a rising number of challenges linked to the COVID-19 vaccines that were developed under Operation Warp Speed2 to accelerate the development and distribution of a “vaccine.” In less than one year, several drug companies reportedly accomplished what often takes up to 15 years.3

Yet the term “vaccine” associated with the COVID-19 shot is a misnomer as it doesn’t meet the medical or legal definition of a vaccine, as detailed in "COVID-19 mRNA Shots Are Legally Not Vaccines."

Rather, it is genetic therapy that comes with a considerable list of potential long-term health concerns, not the least of which is the troubling evidence suggesting some of the mRNA shots may cause prion diseases such as Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Immunologist Dr. Bart Classen writes:4

“Development of new vaccine technology has been plagued with problems in the past. The current RNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were approved in the US using an emergency order without extensive long-term safety testing. The results indicate that the vaccine RNA has specific sequences that may induce TDP-43 and FUS to fold into their pathologic prion confirmations.

The enclosed finding as well as additional potential risks lead the author to believe that regulatory approval of the RNA-based vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 was premature and that the vaccine may cause much more harm than benefit.”

Amid the challenges of physical adverse effects from the vaccines, the lack of adequate testing and the underhanded methods in which vaccination may ultimately be made mandatory, many are now faced with the moral dilemma of being injected with genetic material that was grown in aborted fetal cell cultures.5

Aborted Fetal Cell Cultures Used in Vaccine Production

February 27, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration6 announced the authorization of emergency use for the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. At the same time, the Archdiocese of New Orleans announced that the vaccine is “morally compromised as it uses the abortion-derived cell line in development and production of the vaccine as well as the testing.”7

In addition to their warning that Catholics avoid the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of its “extensive use of abortion-derived cell lines,”8 the Archdiocese acknowledged that while there:9

“ ... was some lab testing that utilized the abortion-derived cell line, the two vaccines currently available from Pfizer and Moderna do not rely on cell lines from abortions in the manufacturing process and therefore can be morally acceptable for Catholics as the connection to abortion is extremely remote.”

There are other clergy members that disagree with using any of the vaccines available for COVID-19 since, as the statement above indicates, abortion-derived cell lines were used in the lab testing.10 However, the Vatican has been aggressively pro-vaccine and approved the use, writing:11

“In this sense, when ethically irreproachable Covid-19 vaccines are not available … it is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process.”

The debate within the Catholic Church has a long history, which centers on using HEK293 cells that were harvested from an aborted fetus in the early 1970s.12 The disagreement leaves many within the church without clear guidance from religious leaders.

Semantics and Technicalities Used to ‘Debunk’ the Truth

Much of the confusion about using aborted fetal tissue in testing and production can be summed up in the statement from The Washington Post, which said in an archived version of a March 2, 2021, article, “The cells used now, such as those used in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, are not from the original fetal tissue.”13 It should also be noted that an updated version14 of the same article deletes this quote without mentioning that the article has been changed.

This is a common mistake that has been perpetuated in the media using general language to describe the process, which is precisely what self-declared fact-checkers use when they rate something false or misleading. As detailed in ”Several COVID-19 Vaccines Are Made Using Aborted Fetal Cells,” the answer lies in the technicalities and not in the general terms.

There have been several cell lines commonly used in vaccine development that originated from aborted fetuses.15 Six vaccine makers are using at least one of these cell lines in the development of COVID-19 vaccines, including AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Fact-checkers label “false” the claims that cell lines from an aborted fetus have been used in the testing and development of the vaccine for several reasons. Some critics of abortion-derived cell lines have claimed that the vaccines contain the cells, and since the vaccines literally do not contain abortion-derived cells, the entire claim is labeled as false.

In other instances, fact-checkers claim the cell lines are not original, as in the statement from The Washington Post, but rather a clone. While there may indeed be some who are concerned that the cells could be in the vaccine, typically, the moral objection is to the use of aborted fetal cells in medical research and development.

Whatever the concern, it has become apparent that fact-checkers are trying to dissuade people from having a public conversation about the ethics of using abortion-derived cell lines to produce and test vaccines.

In fact, fetal cell lines are used during the production of certain vaccines and the claim that the cells are clones of the original is like saying your 20-year-old or 40-year-old body is no longer your body since all the cells are copies of those when you were a baby.

They are, in essence, a clone of the original. However, there is virtually no difference between cells that grow and multiply in a petri dish and those that grow and multiply in your body during your lifetime. If the cells in your body are still you, then the cells in the petri dish are still those of the original aborted fetus.

Reports of Side Effects Are Rising Rapidly

Side effects from the mRNA genetic therapies used to create novel “vaccines” are inevitable. The genetic material effectively turns your cells into bioreactors16 that turn out viral proteins to incite an immune response. Historical and preliminary evidence shows there are short and long-term side effects.

As Judy Mikovits, Ph.D., explains in her interview featured in “How COVID-19 ‘Vaccines’ May Destroy the Lives of Millions,” the mRNA is synthetic, which the body sees as “non-self.” This can trigger the production of autoantibodies to attack your own tissues.

Commonly reported side effects in those who have received the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines have included symptoms that are suggestive of neurological damage.

Since the vaccines began being distributed some of the side effects have included severe allergic reactions including anaphylaxis,17,18,19 seizures and convulsions,20,21 persistent headache and migraine,22 paralysis23 and sudden death within hours or days.24,25,26,27

As detailed in “Why COVID Vaccine Testing Is a Farce,” Mikovits predicts a long-term significant uptick in neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, such as psychosis, Parkinson's, migraines, ALS and sleep disorders. She also believes there will also be a rise in pain syndromes like fibromyalgia, as well as cancers, kidney disease and rheumatoid arthritis, to name a few.

Additionally, Dr. J. Patrick Whelan, a pediatric rheumatologist specializing in multisystem inflammatory syndrome, submitted a public comment28 to the FDA in December 2020, in which he expressed concern that mRNA vaccines have “the potential to cause microvascular injury to the brain, heart, liver and kidneys in ways that were not assessed in safety trials.”

He cited research showing that “the spike protein in brain endothelial cells is associated with formation of microthrombi (clots).” It seems that since no viral RNA has been found in brain endothelium, “viral proteins appear to cause tissue damage without actively replicating virus.”

Governments ‘Held to Ransom’ to Secure Vaccine Deals

Within the U.S., vaccine makers enjoy full indemnity against injuries that happen from the COVID-19 vaccine, or any other pandemic vaccine, under the PREP Act. If you're injured, you must file a compensation claim with the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP).29 This is funded by taxpayers through the Congressional appropriation to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Although similar to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), the CICP is even less generous than the NVICP when it comes to compensation. You will be responsible for any attorney fees and expert witness fees.

Another problem is that, like the NVICP, the CICP is administered within the DHHS, which also operates and promotes the COVID-19 vaccination program. This is a significant conflict of interest that makes it less likely the CICP will acknowledge that a COVID-19 vaccine harmed someone.30

However, in many countries outside the U.S., drug manufacturers are not afforded such liability protection. While most governments are offering indemnity to the vaccine manufacturers, there are a fair few who have not. According to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism,31 Pfizer has asked for sovereign assets in Argentina and Brazil to be put up against any future legal costs.

Officials from Argentina and an unnamed Latin American country, which cannot be revealed as it signed a confidentiality agreement with Pfizer, told a journalist from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism they felt:32

“Pfizer's demands went beyond those of other vaccine companies, and beyond those of Covax, an organization created to ensure low-income countries can access vaccines, which is also requiring its members to indemnify manufacturers.”

Do Your Own Risk-Benefit Analysis Before Deciding

Before taking the vaccine it's important to do your own risk-benefit analysis based on your moral beliefs and science. It is crucial to be careful about making up your mind before using experimental gene therapy.

It is also important to remember that the lethality of COVID-19 is surprisingly low, lower than the flu for those under the age of 60.33 If you’re under the age of 40, your risk of dying is just 0.01%. This means you have a 99.99% chance of surviving the infection, which can improve to 99.999% if you're metabolically flexible, insulin sensitive and vitamin D replete.

The mRNA vaccines are not designed to prevent infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2, only to reduce the severity of the symptoms of COVID-19 disease. In the meantime, you also have the potential of becoming sicker once exposed to the virus, or it may trigger persistent serious side effects such as those reviewed above.

I urge you to take the time to weigh the potential risks and benefits based on your situation before making a decision you could regret for the rest of your life. Undoubtedly, Pfizer and other vaccine makers suspect this as well, which is why they are asking for indemnification from all governments and are working hard to quash any public debate about the morality or science behind the vaccine.

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