To start, I’d want to ask you a question: Given the choice to take a vaccine shot for a widespread

international epidemic, would you still take the shot knowing you are about to take a vaccine
made with cultured fetus cells?
This is the moral dilemma faced by people with the knowledge of how the current COVID-19
vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are made with cells from aborted
fetuses.
From the brief history of vaccines, the use of animal cells and subsequently fetus cells started in
the 1800’s then 1900’s. When this information resurfaced, anti-abortionists had problems with
this methods as it is said to be morally wrong to use aborted humans for vaccines.
Now, although it is morally questionable to use fetus cells for vaccines, does the use of such cells
outweigh the horrors of the current epidemic? Modern anti-abortionists says that the current
widespread epidemic problem does outweigh the use of human fetus cells, but if given the choice
of a more morally acceptable vaccine shot they’d choose the alternative.
All this does pose the question of whether it is morally acceptable to use fetus cells for vaccines.
On one hand, the creation of a vaccine for a widespread international epidemic like the current
COVID-19, is of great importance as it will help with the prevention and control of its further
spread. On the other hand, it is horrible that they would have to use unborn humans for the
vaccines.
Does the use of aborted fetus cells outweigh the use to potentially prevent further spread of a
virus or epidemic? In my opinion, if it could help prevent death and infection of many, the
morally questionable use of aborted fetuses is worth it. Although the acquisition of these fetuses
is another moral dilemma in ties with the dilemma for whether or not it is right to have abortions,
I find that if the individual who decided to have the abortion in his/ her own accord may also
have the choice to have her unborn child be used for the greater good of the populous.
As for the type of moral dilemma, I find that this moral dilemma is, and can be argued to be of
Organizational levels. This is due to the fact that this is how the working vaccine is made by the
different vaccine manufacturers or organizations, the method and research comes from how
historical vaccines for similar problems of a virus or epidemic are made. If this hadn’t worked at
all, it would be a disgusting and morally abhorrent format to continue using such methods. But it
does work, case and point the use of fetal cells to create vaccines for hepatitis A, rubella, and
rabies back on the 1960’s and 1970’s.
To conclude, the moral dilemma of having to use aborted fetus cells for vaccines does have its
merits, but one has to ask if is it worth risking his/ her own health and the health of many to
avoid using an already made vaccine with methods of how the vaccine is made? If an alternative
is created, it would be a much better choice. Until then, it would be morally better to take the
“abortion-tainted” vaccine for the betterment of the community.