CNA Staff, Sep 3, 2020 / 23:37 pm
Catholic leaders in the U.S. have welcomed the news that one of the world's biggest vaccine producers has decided to discontinue a polio vaccine derived from an abortion fetal cell line.
Sanofi-Pasteur will instead use an ethical animal cell line in the production of its polio vaccine. The company, among the three largest vaccine manufacturers globally, has also committed to developing a COVID-19 vaccine that does not use a cell line from an elective abortion.
"We welcome these opportunities where we can illustrate the Church's eager embrace of scientific advancement when it upholds the dignity of the human person and the precious gift of human life," said Greg Schleppenbach, associate director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities for the U.S. bishops' conference.
In a Sept. 2 memo to diocesan pro-life directors and state Catholic conference directors, Schleppenbach noted "that the FDA recently approved Sanofi-Pasteur's request to switch from using an aborted fetal cell line (MRC-5) to using an ethical animal cell line to produce its polio combination vaccines Pentacel and Quadracel."