Page 60 - Vaccines

Vaccines and Catholic morality

recommending vaccination to particular groups or, in
especially grave circumstances, by making vaccination
compulsory. They have the strict duty to monitor rigor-
ously the production, distribution and administration of
such vaccines by virtue of these same two moral princi-
ples, a duty which stems from their strict obligation as
public health officials to safeguard the life and the health
of all those subject to their authority as citizens or as
others present in their territory and thus subject to their
jurisdiction.

d. The obligation of the State

The obligation of the State, as of everyone without
exception, to do only what is morally good, right and just
and to avoid what is immoral, especially if it is intrinsi-
cally immoral, demands that it forbid the production
and/ or the testing of all vaccines using cells or any
biological material derived from the cells of aborted
human foetuses, both because directly procured, delib-
erate abortion is intrinsically and gravely immoral and
because of the grave violation of the consciences and of
the fundamental rights of Catholics and of many other
persons of upright conscience, which is entailed in such
practices.

e. The duty of Catholics

The duty of Catholics and of others is certainly not to
make use of any of the vaccines produced in this immoral
way in those countries where alternative effective vac-
cines exist and can be obtained without excessive
expense. It is also the duty of Catholics and of others of
upright conscience to campaign politically to educate
people as to the facts involved, as to the immorality of

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