LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The national vaccine debate hit a town in Northern Kentucky because an unvaccinated high school senior is suing a local health department.
Jerome Kunkel attends Our Lady of the Sacred Heart/Assumption Academy in Walton, Ky. The Northern Kentucky Health Department banned any students from attending school who either had not received the chicken pox vaccine or were not already immune to the illness. The lawsuit claims the department violated the first amendment and the Kunkels believe it is a fight for religious freedom. The lawsuit claims Kunkel is a practicing Catholic and member of the Assumption Church and it states, "among other fundamental and deeply held religious beliefs of Mr. Kunkel, and the beliefs of his family, is that the use of any vaccine that is derived from aborted fetal cells is immoral, illegal, and sinful."
The Kunkels are among a number of people who choose to exempt their children from vaccinations to chickenpox, measels, rubella and other illnesses, based on religious grounds...
Most states allow for vaccine exemptions based on religious grounds. Those who choose to exempt based on religion claim common vaccines are products of cells that once belonged to aborted fetuses.
Others have also weighed in since learning the Jerome Kunkel's lawsuit, including Gov. Matt Bevin.
THE QUESTIONS:
Do common vaccines, such as chickenpox or rubella, contain cells from aborted fetuses? Where do faith leaders stand on the issue?
THE ANSWERS:
There is some truth to the claim that vaccines, such as varicella (the chickenpox vaccine,) do contain cells originating from aborted fetuses, but it's a distant connection, which is why religious leaders have said that shouldn't deter parents from vaccinating their children.
WHAT WE FOUND:
Many common vaccines, developed in the 1960's, were originally derived from aborted fetus cells. The Food and Drug Administration's description of the chickenpox vaccine shows the cell lines used, which are WI-38 and MRC-5. Merck, a vaccine manufacturer, acknowledged those cells were originally obtained from an electively aborted fetus. They were used to start a cell line, which is a cell multiplied over and over again to produce cells that are of a consistent genetic makeup. The WI-38 cell line is used as a culture to grow live viruses that are used in vaccines. Thus, any product grown from those cell lines have a distant connection to abortion. According to the manufacturer of some of the common vaccines, the original cells were obtained more than 50 years ago. The company Merck said, "these cell lines are now more than three generations removed from their origin, and we have not used any new tissue to produce these vaccines."
But some doctors say its misleading to claim there's any significant connection in the modern vaccines given to children. Dr. Paul Offitt is the director of the vaccine education center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He said, "there are perhaps nanograms of DNA fragments still found in the vaccine, perhaps billionths of a gram." He also added, "you would find as much if you analyzed the fruits and vegetables you eat."
For many, there's still an ethical consideration. But, since modern vaccines have only a distant connection, religious leaders aren't deterring people from getting their children vaccinated.
The National Catholic Bioethics Center said "one is morally free to use the vaccine regardless of its historical association with abortion. The reason is that the risk to public health, if one chooses not to vaccinate, outweighs the legitimate concern about the origins of the vaccine. This is especially important for parents, who have a moral obligation to protect the life and health of their children and those around them."