Vaccines – Aborted Fetus Cell Lines
Few people know that modern vaccines for various diseases such as Measles and Chickenpox are manufactured using fetal cell lines from abortion.
As a parent, I was faced with the decision whether or not to vax my children. I was shocked to find out that vaccines contained aborted fetus cells, turning a parental decision into a matter of ethical principles (As a Christian, I believe life begins at conception and am 100% against abortion.) I am posting this information here so people can make informed decisions. I am aware some of this information is posted elsewhere on the internet, but it was/is extremely difficult to find if you do not know exactly what to look for, so this is partially for more in-depth information and partially to make it easier to find. I have also noticed some of the links on some pro-life site are outdated for vaccines (For example Coriell Labs has moved their pages around), so here are ones that are current as of March 14 2009.
To start, I'll post information on one of the Chickenpox (varicella) vaccines. The vaccine is manufactured by Merck, called Varivax. (Smith-Kline also makes a varicella vaccine but I'll post on that later.)
The FDA approved Varivax for distribution in the USA in March 1995.
FDA Approval Letter to Merck for Varivax
In Canada, it was approved on December 2, 1998.
Notice of Compliance dates for Varivax(III) in Canada (Merck-Frosst)
Varivax II and Varivax III are its successors and Varivax III is the one currently manufactured.
The original Varivax information distributed in the USA stated:
VARIVAX* [Varicella Virus Vaccine Live] is a preparation of the Oka/Merck strain of live, attenuated
varicella virus. The virus was initially obtained from a child with natural varicella, then introduced into
human embryonic lung cell cultures, adapted to and propagated in embryonic guinea pig cell cultures and
finally propagated in human diploid cell cultures (WI-38). Further passage of the virus for varicella vaccine
was performed at Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) in human diploid cell cultures (MRC-5) that were
free of adventitious agents. This live, attenuated varicella vaccine is a lyophilized preparation containing
sucrose, phosphate, glutamate, and processed gelatin as stabilizers.
Varivax III Product Monograph, from Merck-Frosst Canada
From Page 9:
Non-Medicinal Ingredients
Each 0.5 mL dose contains: approximately 18 mg of sucrose, 8.9 mg of hydrolyzed gelatin, 3.6 mg of
urea, 2.3 mg of sodium chloride, 0.36 mg of monosodium L-glutamate, 0.33 mg of sodium phosphate
dibasic, 57 ìg of potassium phosphate monobasic, 57 ìg of potassium chloride. The product also
contains residual components of MRC-5 cells including DNA and protein; and trace quantities of
neomycin, and fetal bovine serum from MRC-5 culture media. The product contains no preservative.
Where did this MRC-5 and WI-38 come from?
Coriell Research Lab MRC-5 Cell Line
The MRC-5 cell line was developed in September 1966 from lung tissue taken from a 14 week fetus aborted for psychiatric reason from a 27 year old physically healthy woman. The cell morphology is fibroblast-like. The karyotype is 46,XY; normal diploid male. Cumulative population doublings to senescence is 42-48. G6PD isoenzyme is type B. >
Coriell Research Lab WI-38 Cell Line
The WI-38 cell line was developed in July 1962 from lung tissue taken from a therapeutically aborted fetus of about 3 months gestational age. Cells released by trypsin digestion of the lung tissue were used for the primary culture. The cell morphology is fibroblast-like. The karyotype is 46,XX; normal diploid female. A maximum lifespan of 50 population doublings for this culture was obtained at the Repository. A thymidine labelling index of 86% was obtained after recovery. G6PD is isoenzyme type B. This culture of WI-38 is an expansion from passage 9 frozen cells obtained from the submitter.
