Women Doctors, Pro-Life Activists Issue Appeal to Resist Abortion-Tainted Vaccines

A group of nearly 100 women doctors, religious, politicians and pro-life activists from around the world have issued a heartfelt appeal to all people of goodwill to cease morally justifying the use of abortion-tainted COVID-19 vaccines, saying that failure to stand up and resist them is fueling an expanding culture of death involving experimentation and use of baby body parts.

The women signatories who include 100-year-old Dr. Wanda Półtawska, a friend of the late Pope St. John Paul II who was a victim of pseudo-medical experiments in a Nazi concentration camp, Abby Johnson, the U.S. anti-abortion activist, and Sister Deirdre Byrne, a former military general surgeon, argue that justification of such vaccines is based on “an incomplete assessment of the science of vaccination and immunology.”

The Full Statement: The Voice of Women in Defense of Unborn Babies and in Opposition to Abortion-tainted Vaccines (also see below)

They state that due to the “notable lack of outcry” about producing and testing COVID-19 and other vaccines using cell lines from aborted fetuses, use of aborted children in such medical research has become not only generally accepted in recent decades but “expanded” to include “collecting and trafficking the bodies of murdered unborn babies” for experimentation which would “normally be considered unethical.”

“[The] general acquiescence to abortion-tainted vaccines, particularly by Christians, has only contributed to the culture of death,” the women signatories write, adding that they cannot “sit back” while the use of aborted human fetuses is “gradually normalized as an ‘unfortunate’ part of modern-day medicine.

“It is time for clergy and laity to boldly confront this horror and defend the right to life for the most vulnerable with ‘maximum determination,’” they continue. “This evil offshoot of abortion must be ended!”

The signatories, who include veteran Latin American pro-life leaders and former Pontifical Academy for Life members Mercedes Wilson de Arzu, Christine de Marcellus Vollmer and Dr. Pilar Calva, argue that even though these vaccines used aborted fetal cell lines from the 1960s and 1970s, their use today involves the “ongoing commercialization of the child’s body” and the promotion of further experimentation of “new aborted fetal tissue” in the future.

They therefore “humbly suggest” that Pope Francis, the Vatican and bishops worldwide “re-evaluate” their statements on COVID-19 vaccines. They should realize, they add, that aborted fetal cells were not only used in tests, but as an “integral part” of vaccine development. These vaccines have also not been rigorously tested for their efficacy, the average survival rate from COVID-19 infection is “higher than 98.3%,” and their “experimental nature” makes “urging, coercing or forcing” people to take them “a violation” of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, they state.

“Abortion is the modern-day Massacre of the Innocents,” the signatories say in the statement’s opening words, adding that, as women, they wished their “feminine cry to be heard round the world.” It came from “the depth of our maternal hearts,” they say, “which are devoted to defending the cause of life and combatting the culture of death.”

They express their wish not to be “complicit in the modern-day Massacre of the Holy Innocents” and so “refuse to accept any and all vaccines made using cells derived from aborted human fetuses.”

The women signatories, who published their statement on International Women’s Day, also describe in detail the full horror of abortion including precisely how aborted fetuses are used in the production and testing of vaccines.

“As Christians we are called to put on the mind of Christ and unite our hearts to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” the women conclude. “Therefore, we will not cooperate in this immense infanticidal cult.

“We will not be complicit. It is time to stand up!” they say in closing.

Pope Francis, who along with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI received his first dose of the Pfizer-manufactured vaccine in January that drew on aborted fetal tissue in laboratory tests, has been unremittingly supportive of such vaccines, going so far as to call inoculation an “ethical duty” and that opposition to immunization is not only inexplicable but a form of “suicidal denial.”

In a doctrinal note issued in December, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that the use of the vaccines was “morally licit” primarily because cooperation in evil in the procured abortion was “remote.”

But the document also stressed that use of such vaccines did not equate to a moral endorsement of using cell lines proceeding from aborted fetuses, and that both pharmaceutical companies and governmental health agencies are encouraged to use “ethically acceptable vaccines.”

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The Voice of Women in Defense of Unborn Babies and in Opposition to Abortion-tainted Vaccines

Abortion is the modern-day Massacre of the Innocents. We, as women, wish our feminine cry to be heard round the world. This declaration comes from the depth of our maternal hearts, which are devoted to defending the cause of life and combatting the culture of death. We therefore wholeheartedly affirm: “We will not be complicit in the modern-day Massacre of the Holy Innocents and we therefore refuse to accept any and all vaccines made using cells derived from aborted human fetuses.”

Abortion: the source of fetal tissue

Let us confront honestly the reality of abortion. About one in five pregnancies worldwide ends in abortion; this is an estimated 40-50 million abortions per year.[1] Since the abortion business began in earnest, as many as 2.5 billion unborn babies have been slain in the wombs of their mothers. Just for a moment, let us ponder that figure, and try to fathom this fathomless abyss.

The twentieth century’s exceptionally barbaric cruelty, with its two deadly world wars and even deadlier ideologies, does not even approach the immense magnitude of this worldwide massacre of the most helpless of all human beings. How could we not keep this fact firmly in mind as we thoughtfully deliberate as to the morality of vaccines made from cells derived from aborted human fetuses?

This genocide of the unborn is unthinkable in its magnitude, but it is equally unconscionable in its heinous brutality: the manner of their murder is barbaric beyond belief. Let us place before our mind’s eye a few of the preferred surgical abortion methods.[2] Let us picture an unborn baby boy at nine weeks after conception: he can turn somersaults, frown, and swallow. To abort this unborn boy, a hollow tube with a knife-edged tip is inserted into his mother’s womb and is connected to a powerful vacuum, which tears him into small pieces that are sucked into a bottle and discarded.

Now let us picture an unborn girl at the end of the third month in her mother’s womb: she can and does sometimes cry silently, and she can feel pain. To abort this unborn girl, a pair of forceps is inserted into her mother’s womb to grasp and twist off her bones, until her body is totally dismembered, her spine most likely snapped, and her skull crushed as she is torn from her mother’s body.

Finally, let us picture an unborn boy at 20 weeks: he can recognize his mother’s voice. To abort him, the doctor inserts along needle into the mother’s abdomen and injects a strong salt solution which he swallows; the corrosive poison burns him inside and out. Within a day, his mother will actually give birth to her dead or dying baby. Many such babies have been born alive, then left unattended to die. This is a death more cruel than that of the children sacrificed in Gehenna, the valley near Jerusalem where the ancient Israelites once sacrificed their own children, burning them alive in the hands of the Canaanite idol Moloch. The fires of infanticide consumed them more rapidly than today’s tiny victims. It is icy cold in Moloch’s hands today: the little boy shivers until he is silent and still, lying in a pool of blood that quickly chills. Once swaddled warmly in the womb, he now lies lifeless in a sterile room, naked from head to toe, with no one to mourn or weep for him.[3]

The “fruit” of fetal tissue research

As if the sheer number and brutality of these abortions were not enough, aborted baby body parts are now being harvested[4] for the purpose of medical research in a kind of modern-day feticidal horror story. Abortionists have admitted to amending surgical procedures[5] so as to ensure that some body parts are left intact and usable by researchers. Picture the same little boy, not burned by saline, but delivered alive to a horror on par with the human sacrifice of the Aztecs, who ripped out the hearts of the vanquished while they lay panting on the sacrificial altars. After being delivered, perhaps by Caesarian section,[6] the baby boy feels excruciating pain when the abortionist very quickly cuts out his kidney — with no anesthesia — so that his organ can be shipped overnight to keep it fresh for the complicit researcher.[7] Knowing this, how can we willingly benefit from their sacrifice by using a vaccine which used these aborted babies’ bodies at any point in the process of production, no matter how long ago?

Yet, some will claim that this evil lies behind us, in decades past, while others argue that using an abortion-tainted vaccine is morally licit because the cooperation in evil is “remote.”[8] But do these positions reflect the true breadth and gravity of the situation? The evil of using aborted fetal cell lines involves not just the original murder, but the ongoing commercialization of the child’s body, as well as the ultimate refusal to bury his desecrated remains. Moreover, the use of aborted fetal tissue in developing medical interventions most certainly does, and always will, fuel the search for new aborted fetal tissue.[9] Fetal cell lines simply do not last indefinitely,[10] and vaccine manufacturers have a strong incentive to create new lines to match the old ones — choosing to experiment with aborted babies of the same sex and roughly the same age.[11] This has occurred multiple times in past decades, with the most recent aborted fetal cell line developed in 2015.[12] Moreover, due to the notable lack of outcry about the cell lines, biomedical research with aborted children has expanded in recent decades to include collecting and trafficking the bodies of murdered unborn babies[13] for use in research that would normally be considered unethical to perform on a human being.[14] Moloch is never satisfied.

All these evils are only perpetuated and promoted by passive acceptance of a morally tainted vaccine on a “temporary basis.” Let us reflect on the fact that the MMR vaccine, which was developed in 1971 and is marketed by Merck, has been urged as a moral duty[15] because of its potential to reduce congenital rubella syndrome (which it fails to do[16]). The MMR contains a morally compromised rubella component which required nearly 100 separate abortions[17] to develop, and despite the statements from our prelates that Catholics who use the vaccine must object to its use in other ways,[18] it is still in use after 50 years. Neither the voices of the shepherds nor the faithful have drowned out the tacit approval given by their actions. Indeed, general acquiescence to abortion-tainted vaccines, particularly by Christians, has only contributed to the culture of death.[19] We cannot sit back as the use of aborted human fetuses in medical research is gradually normalized as an “unfortunate” part of modern-day medicine. It is time for clergy and laity to boldly confront this horror and defend the right to life for the most vulnerable with “maximum determination.”[20] This evil offshoot of abortion must be ended!

The Covid-19 vaccines and fetal tissue

Let us now consider the present case of the COVID-19 vaccines, many of which utilize aborted fetal cell lines,[21] either directly during the manufacturing process or indirectly through testing. There are those who argue that such use is not only moral but is an actual act of charity to one’s neighbor[22] in light of the gravity of the pandemic. We humbly suggest that such statements, including some official ones issued by bishops[23] and even the Vatican,[24] are based on an incomplete assessment of the science of vaccination and immunology, and beg such proponents to reevaluate their statements in light of the following facts:

1. The vaccine candidates that are reported to use aborted fetal cells “only during testing” made use of the HEK-293 [Human Embryonic Kidney-293] cells as an integral part of the development[25] of their mRNA candidate and used them again to confirm the efficacy of the mRNA, sometimes through more than one type[26] of confirmatory test.
2. The vaccine candidates in question have not been rigorously tested for their efficacy in preventing infection by or transmission of SARS-CoV-2,[27] but instead evaluated for the reduction of symptomatic severity in those who develop “confirmed cases” of COVID-19. Even this evaluation of modest protective effect may be seriously inflated.[28]
3. The average survival rate from SARS-CoV-2 infection is higher than 98.3%,[29] and this is not likely to be significantly impacted by vaccines with such poor efficacy.
4. The vaccine is 5-10X more likely to produce adverse reactions than the flu vaccines, and causes 15-26X more headaches, fatigue, and dizziness (according to VAERS[30] data). The vaccine has also caused many more severe reactions and numerous deaths.[31] The safety data that has been collected is insufficient to determine possible long-term effects.[32]
5. The vaccine’s experimental nature[33] makes urging, coercing, or forcing people to take it a direct violation of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.[34]

When taken together, all of these factors demonstrate that statements that justify the use of the abortion-tainted COVID vaccine candidates not only ignore the gravity and immediacy of the crimes committed against the unborn, they ignore the scientific evidence about the disease and the inadequacy of the current vaccine candidates and their known and unknown risks.

In conclusion, as Christians we are called to put on the mind of Christ and unite our hearts to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Therefore, we will not cooperate in this immense infanticidal cult. We can no longer offer this grain of incense to Moloch. The hour has come for us to imitate the early Christians in their willingness to lay down their lives for the Truth. We will not be complicit. It is time to stand up!

+ March 8, 2021
Feast of St. John of God, patron of hospitals and the sick
International Women’s Day

 

 

[1] Thomas D. Williams, PhD, “Global Abortions Surpass 1.1 Million in First Ten Days of New Year”, Breitbart, Jan 10, 2021.

[2] “All the Facts You Ever Need to Know about Abortion Methods”, LifeSiteNews.com.

[3] With gratitude to Karen Darantière, “Devons-nous refuser les vaccins fabriqués à partir de cellules dérivées de fœtus humains avortés?”, Le Blog de Jeanne Smits, January 26, 2021.

[4] Meredeth Wadman, “The Truth about Fetal Tissue Research”, Nature Magazine, December 9, 2015.

[5] Debra Vinnedge, “Forsaking God for the Sake of Science”, Children of God for Life, June 13, 2012.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Debra Vinnedge, “Aborted Fetal Cell Line Vaccines and the Catholic Family: A Moral and Historical Perspective”, Children of God for Life, October 2005.

[8] Society of Saint Pius X, “Is it Morally Permissible to Receive the Covid-19 Vaccine?”, Society of Saint Pius X, December 4, 2020.

[9] Dr. Theresa Deisher, “Recently Aborted Baby DNA in Vaccines”, Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute, November 1, 2019.

[10] Debra Vinnedge, “Aborted Fetal Cell Line Vaccines and the Catholic Family: A Moral and Historical Perspective”, Children of God for Life, October 2005.

[11] Christine Beiswanger PhD, “A Brief History of IMR-90”, Coriell Institute for Medical Research, 2004

[12] Carol Szczepaniak, “The Ethics of the Walvax-2 Cell Strain”, Nebraska Coalition for Ethical Research, March 14, 2016.

[13] “Coalition Fetal Tissue Research Letter,” Endocrine Society, September 16, 2019.

[14] Stacy Trasancos, “How Aborted Children are Used in Medical Research in 2020,” National Catholic Register, December 15, 2020.

[15] “Moral reflections on vaccines prepared from cells derived from aborted human fetuses”, Pontifical Academy for Life, June 9, 2005

[16] Catherine J.M. Diodati, “Immunization: history, ethics, law and health”, Integral Aspects, 1999.

[17] Debra Vinnedge, “Vaccines from Abortion: Time to Report the Truth”, Children of God for Life, May 20, 2019.

[18] “Instruction Dignitas Personae on Certain Bioethical Questions”, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, September 8, 2008.

[19] Pope John Paul II, “Encyclical Evangelium Vitae”, March 25, 1995.

[20] Pope John Paul II, “Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifidelis Laici”, December 30, 1988.

[21] “Covid-19 Vaccines and Treatments in Development”, Children of God for Life, January 12, 2021.

[22] “Pope Francis to have Covid-19 vaccine, says it is the ethical choice for all”, Reuters, January 9, 2021.

[23] Chairmen of the Committee on Doctrine and the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, “Moral Considerations Regarding the New Covid-19 Vaccines”, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

[24] “Note on the morality of using some anti-Covid-19 vaccines”, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, December 21, 2020.

[25] Daniel Wrapp, et al. “Cryo-EM structure of the 2019-nCoV spike in the prefusion conformation”, Science Magazine, March 13, 2020.

[26] “Guidance on Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine”, Children of God for Life.

[27] Pfizer, “A Phase 1/2/3 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, Immunogenicity, and Efficacy of RNA Vaccine Candidates Against COVID-19 in Healthy Individuals”, BioNTech.

[28] Peter Doshi, “Pfizer and Moderna’s ‘95% effective’ vaccines—we need more details and the raw data”, BMJ Opinion, January 4, 2021.

[29] John P.A. Ioannidis, “Infection fatality rate of COVID-19 inferred from seroprevalence data”, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, October 14, 2020. Article ID: BLT.20.265892.

[30] VAERS, Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

[31] Amanda Woods, “23 die in Norway after receiving Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine: officials”, New York Post, January 15, 2021.

[32] Bill Gates interview, “Vaccine Safety Compromise”, BBC Breakfast, April 12, 2020.

[33] “How the Pfizer-BioBTech Covid-19 Vaccine was Developed”, 60 Minutes, December 21, 2020.

[34] United Nations, “Universal Declarations on Bioethics and Human Rights”, October 19, 2005.

 

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SIGNATORIES (86 women from 25 countries)

 

INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN SIGNATORIES: (2)

Dr. Wanda Półtawska, Polish medical doctor, specialist in psychiatry, victim of pseudo-medical experiments in the Nazi concentration camp of Ravensbrück

Abby Johnson, American anti-abortion activist

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OTHER SIGNATORIES BY GEOGRAPHICAL REGION:

AFRICA (6)

Lesotho

Sr. Celestina Tiheli, director of Human Life International Lesotho

Kenya

Maximiliane Muninzwa, pro-life worker

Namibia

Marion Matheis, private nursing practitioner, pro-life activist

Tanzania

Alice Kawonga Hagamu, Human Life International Tanzania

Zimbabwe

Monica Chihambakwe, Human Life International Zimbabwe

Veronica Chawasemerwa, Human Life International Zimbabwe

 

AMERICAS (54)

Central America

Guatemala

Mercedes Wilson de Arzu, founder and director of Familia de las Americas

Costa Rica

Clara Milena Perdomo, psycho-pedagogical specialist, member of Opciones Heroicas, instructor in natural family planning for the Bishops’ Conference of Costa Rica

North America

Mexico

Dr. Pilar Calva MD, specialist in clinical genetics, professor of bioethics, advisor to Derechos del Concebido

Arlene Gugino Gaytán, member of Mision Guadalupana and the Diocesan Council of Merida for Perpetual Adoration Chapels

Laura Rebeca Lecuanda Gómez, director of Centro de Ayuda Para la Mujer en Ensenada in Baja California

Marcela Vaquera Guevara, president of Frente Nacional por la Familia en Baja California

Effy de Lille, licentiate in Family Science, Centro cultural Mater Dei

María del Carmen Limón, coordinator, Asociación Mexicana para la Superación Integral de la Familia

Rubí Peniche de Mac Gregor, Pro-Life activist en Chiapas

Brenda Lourdes Del Río Machín, women’s human rights activist, director of Que viva Mexico

Patricia López Mancera, chairwoman of Centro de estudios y formación integral para la mujer and coordinator of Frente Nacional por la familia Quintana

Mercedes Pizzuto de Marván, art historian, master in family consultancy, chairwoman of Por la Vida y la Familia en Querétaro

Marta Eugenia Menéndez Losa, member 40 dias por la Vida

Gladys Noemí Alayola Montañez, consecrated woman in Instituto para la Liberación y Crecimiento Espiritual de las Almas

Gabriela Tejeda Morales, family consultant, director of Vida y familia

Rossana Villares Moreno, Movimiento Frena

Silvia Rovelo Nájera, Grupo Apostolico Betel

Luz Marie Orcí, university professor and founder of Organización para la Restauración, Consolidación e Integración de la Familia

Lilia Pastrana, member of 40 días Por la Vida

Patricia Pesqueira de Erosa, member of Mision Guadalupana

Veronica Dorbecker Puerto, member of Mision Guadalupana

Claudia Susana Nevárez Quintana, licentiate in industrial relations, member of Red de Apoyo a la Familia

Fernanda Patricia Teran Quintero, licentiate in International Business, coordinator of political action for Coalicion de grupos a favor de la vida y la familia

Mireya del Carmen Rivera Ramirez, consecrated woman in Instituto para la Liberación y Crecimiento Espiritual de las Almas

Alma Elisa Saldaña Rivera, licentiate in law, coordinator of Coalicion de grupos a favor de la vida y la familia

María de los Angeles Pavón Rodriguez, member of Asociación Católica Internacional Consecratio Mundi

Susana Troyo Rodríguez, consecrated woman in Instituto para la Liberación y Crecimiento Espiritual de las Almas

Aida Rosa Cardin de Rosado, member of Mision Guadalupana

Alejandra Yáñez Rubio, lawyer for Conciencia y Derechos Humanos

Adriana Olguín Ruiz, member of Familia Religiosa del Inmaculado Corazón y de la Divina Misericordia

Maria Luisa Rubio Barthell de Ayuso, member of Mision Guadalupana

Carmen Moreno Sánchez, member of Mision Guadalupana

Ileana López Rscoffie, Mision Guadalupana

Suhad Serna Slim, Director, licentiate in primary education, representative of Ola Celeste SalvemosLas2Vidas

Dr María de Lourdes Pérez Soto, physician and anesthesiologist

Antonieta López Valdés, licentiate in bioethics

Cecilia Alvarez Vales, member of Mision Guadalupana

Andrea Ana Paula del Villar, director and founder of Fundación Tu Decide

Isabel Olguín Villar, member of Brigadas Católicas

Haydee Namur Zurita, member of Asociación Católica Internacional Consecratio Mundi

 

United States of America

Pamela Acker, Master of Science, author of “Vaccination: A Catholic Perspective” (2020)

Sr/Dr Deirdre M. Byrne, POSC, Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts, General Surgeon

Dr. Grazie Christie, MD, radiologist, policy advisor for The Catholic Association, host of EWTN radio show “Conversations with Consequences”

Dr. Angela Lanfranchi, MD, co-founder of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute

Debi Vinnedge, founder of Children of God for Life

 

South America

Argentina

Marcela Errecalde, spokeswoman for Latinoamerica por las 2 Vidas, human rights activist

Yamila Alfonsina Ríos, obstetrician

 Brazil

Anna Carolina Papa Tavares de Oliveira, pro-life lawyer

Chirlei Matos Santos, nurse

Christine Nogueira dos Reis Tonietto, pro-life congresswoman

Ecuador

Sonia Maria Crespo, family psychotherapist, director of Fundación Familia y Futuro

Amparito Medina Guerrero, coordinator of social development projects, human rights activist, Red Vida y Familia

Ximena Izquierdo, manager of EWTN in Latin America

Paraguay

Hadhara Brunstein, medical doctor and endocrinologist, chairwoman of Médicos por la Vida

Venezuela

Christine de Marcellus Vollmer, president of Provive, Alive to the World

 

ASIA (13)

Japan

Sakura Izumi, pro-life activist

Shigeko Ooka, secretary of Japan pro-life movement

Kazakhstan

Dina Khalelova, pediatrician and pro-life activist, Kazakhstan

Asel Schultz, post-abortion healing ministry, volunteer at “Give Life”, Kazakhstan

Malaysia

Dorothy Kuek, Human Life Service Miri, Malaysia

Philippines

Dr. Ligaya Acosta, regional director of Asia and Oceania at Human Life International

Dr. Cynthia Domingo, Doctors for Life

Dr. Jacqueline King, Doctors for Life

Dr. Dolores Octavia No, immediate former president, Doctors for Life

Dr. Eleanor Palabyab, former President, Doctors for Life

Taiwan

Sr. Fideles, director of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla Prolife Center

Meilin Liang, Saint Gianna Beretta Molla Prolife Center

Ruihua Wong, Saint Gianna Beretta Molla Prolife Center

 

EUROPE (11)

Austria

Dr. Eva-Maria Hobiger, MD, radio-oncologist, Vienna

France

Karen Darantière, Catholic mother, co-founder of Confraternity of Mary Coredemptrix

Jeanne Smits, Master of law, journalist and pro-life blogger

Germany

Hedwig v. Beverfoerde, Spokeswoman of Aktionsbündnis für Ehe und Familie – DemoFürAlle

Dorothee Ehrhardt, Board Member of Europäishce Ärzteaktion

Gabriele Kuby, sociologist and author of “The Global Sexual Revolution: Destruction of Freedom in the Name of Freedom” (2015)

Inge M. Thürkauf, actress, journalist and pro-family public speaker

Poland

Kaja Godek, founder of Life and Family Foundation

Russia

Olga Kukhtenkova Ph.D., Russian editor of IFamNews, family rights activist

Alexandra Mashkova, campaign coordinator of “For Family Rights” NGO, founder of “Immune Response,” a movement against forced vaccination

Spain

Dr. Isabel Bellostas Escudero, pediatrician and member of Médicos por la verdad