One of the Most Inexcusable Vaccine Revelations of All...

Former drug company scientist Helen Ratajczak recently created a firestorm of debate from all sides of the vaccine-autism issue when she published her comprehensive review of autism research. This is a massively important study, for more than one reason. One element brought to light that has managed to stay well below the radar is the use of aborted embryonic cells in vaccine production.

CBS News recently reported:

“Ratajczak reports that about the same time vaccine makers took most thimerosal out of most vaccines (with the exception of flu shots which still widely contain thimerosal), they began making some vaccines using human tissue.

Ratajczak says human tissue is currently used in 23 vaccines. She discusses the increase in autism incidences corresponding with the introduction of human DNA to MMR vaccine, and suggests the two could be linked.”

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Former drug company scientist Helen Ratajczak recently created a firestorm of debate from all sides of the vaccine-autism issue when she published her comprehensive review of autism research. However, her 79-page review contains one detail that could easily go unnoticed—five words that reveal one of the most shocking secrets Big Pharma has ever kept from you.

"…Grown in human fetal tissue."

The line reads (page 70):

"An additional increased spike in incidence of autism occurred in 1995 when the chicken pox vaccine was grown in human fetal tissue."

If you are struggling to recall how you could have missed this important fact when signing your vaccine consent form, it wasn't your error—because it wasn't disclosed on any consent form. Most people are unaware that human cell cultures derived from aborted human fetuses have been used extensively in vaccine production for decades. And vaccine makers are happy that most of the public has remained ignorant of this fact, as awareness of it could blow up in their faces.

Setting aside, for the moment, unknown long-term health consequences of DNA contamination and religious beliefs about use of aborted fetal tissues—the ethics of nondisclosure are reprehensible. Drug companies and vaccine policy-makers should not be allowed to decide whether or not to share this information with you. This is information you should have received PRIOR to making a choice about whether or not to vaccinate.

Which Vaccines Might Be Produced Using Aborted Fetal Cell Lines?

Chicken pox vaccine is not the only vaccine manufactured in this way. According to Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute(SCPI), the following 24 vaccines are produced using cells from aborted fetuses and/or contain DNA, proteins, or related cellular debris from cell cultures derived from aborted human fetuses:

Polio	PolioVax, Pentacel, DT Polio Absorbed, Quadracel (Sanofi)
Measles, Mumps, Rubella	MMR II, Meruvax II, MRVax, Biovax, ProQuad, MMR-V (Merck) Priorix, Erolalix (GlaxoSmithKline)
Varicella (Chickenpox and Shingles)	Varivax, ProQuad, MMR-V, Zostavax (Merck) Varilix (GlaxoSmithKline)
Hepatitis A	Vaqta (Merck) Havrix, Twinrix (GlaxoSmithKine) Avaxim, Vivaxim (Sanofi) Epaxal (Crucell/Berna)
Rabies	Imovax (Sanofi)

SCPI also lists cosmetics that are similarly produced from aborted fetal tissue cell lines, which I'll  discuss a bit later.

The Sordid History of Viral Vaccines

There are two primary cell cultures that have been growing in labs for more than 35 years and have been used to prepare hundreds of millions of doses of vaccines:

1. WI-38: Originating in the U.S. in 1961, this line came from the lung cells of an intentionally aborted female human fetus of 3 months gestation.
2. MRC-5: Originating in the U.K. in 1966, this line was derived from the lung cells of an intentionally aborted 14-week-old male human fetus.

The National Network for Immunization Information (NNII) has an article on their website explaining the rationale for using human fetal cells, and the history of how they've been used in vaccine production. The article states that these fetuses were not aborted for the purpose of vaccine research or vaccine production, nor did the cell biologists who created the cultures perform the abortions themselves.

The NNII article explains some of the difficulties involved in producing "biological medications," especially when it comes to growing viruses:

"It is far more complex to manufacture biological medications (for example, vaccines, antibodies) than it is to produce chemical medications (for example, penicillin or aspirin). In addition, certain vaccines are more complex to make than others. The bacteria that go into bacterial vaccines can be grown in simple laboratory cultures. In contrast, the growth of viruses requires living cells.

Viruses cannot reproduce on their own. They require a living host in which to grow, such as chicken embryos, and cells from animals that are grown in culture. Vaccine manufacturers currently have few options for viral culture, because of valid pharmaceutical reasons and because of human safety concerns. For example, varicella (chickenpox) virus does not grow well in most cells derived from species other than humans. Also, human cells are preferred because cells derived from animal organs sometimes may carry animal viruses that could harm people."

It may be more difficult, but it IS possible to prepare viral vaccines without the use of human or animal cells, as today's hepatitis B vaccine proves. The current version of the hepatitis B vaccine, used in the U.S. since 1986, uses yeast cells. Other virus vaccines use chicken embryos or monkey kidney cell lines.

So, why don't manufacturers avoid using human cells altogether and instead opt for less controversial methods? I suspect there is little incentive for vaccine manufacturers to develop and test new vaccines when they are already profiting from existing ones. Of course, when the truth becomes widely known about how these vaccines are derived, they may begin seeing their profits plunge and be forced to find new methodology.

One Particularly Egregious Example: Rubella Vaccine

The rubella virus used in making rubella vaccine was originally derived from tissues from the aborted fetus of a rubella virus-infected mother. Babies born to rubella-infected mothers are at risk for serious birth defects.

According to Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center:

"The rubella vaccine currently used in the U.S. and in most countries was developed after an American researcher at the Wistar Institute cultured rubella virus from a fetus aborted because the mother was infected with rubella. This vaccine is called RA 27/3 because the rubella virus was isolated from the 27th aborted fetus sent to the Wistar Institute in the 1964 rubella outbreak. Researchers were unable to culture rubella from the tissues of the first 26 fetuses sent to Wistar, which had been aborted by doctors because the mothers had rubella during pregnancy."

A recent study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has led to a question of whether there is a  correlation between the abrupt rise in American autism rates with the introduction of fetal cells for use in vaccines (1988). This correlation has prompted researchers to ask the question about how aborted fetal DNA could be causing, or contributing to, the development of autism disorders in children. Thus far, there have been no proposed theories of a mechanism. However, it's a significant correlation that should at least be investigated. If you care about what you put into your body, and into your child's body, and you are outraged by this information, you are not alone.

How can a person be pro-life and NOT object to the use of these vaccines?

The impact of the finding that many vaccines are derived from aborted fetal cell lines is potentially enormous, given the great number of people who define themselves as Pro Life. For someone who is Pro Life to discover that a vaccine contains the DNA from aborted fetuses is like a Muslim finding out that a vaccine is derived from pork.

I would anticipate that many of the people who object to use of aborted fetal tissues for scientific research are going to be shocked and outraged when they learn that their children have been secretly injected with vaccines containing DNA, proteins, or related cellular debris from cell cultures derived from aborted human fetuses.

This is not a small portion of the population!

The two largest religious preferences in the U.S. are Catholic and Evangelical, representing 50 percent of the population.And those are not the only two groups who typically share Pro Life views. Given these numbers, you could extrapolate that more than one of every two people receiving vaccines might have opted out of them based on religious beliefs alone, had they been given truthful and complete information about how the vaccines were produced.

The Catholic Church objects to "formal cooperation" with abortion. However, in terms of its vaccine policy, there are more gray areas than mandates.

The Vatican states it's your "grave responsibility" to use alternative vaccines when available, i.e., vaccines not derived from aborted human fetuses. It also states that those with moral problems should make conscientious objections. However, the Vatican dictates it's within your right to make your own choice about whether or not to use these vaccines. It takes the position that, in the absence of alternatives, the health of the population as a whole must be considered, stating these vaccines may be utilized "to avoid a serious risk not only for one's own children but also, and more specifically, for the health conditions of the population as a whole—especially for pregnant women."

For more details on the Catholic Church's stance on this issue, the National Catholic Bioethics Center has a section of their website devoted to Q & A about vaccines derived from fetal cells. If you are Catholic and confused about this issue, you may want to discuss it with your priest.

If you are Pro Life for religious or other reasons, you owe it to yourself to take a serious look at this information before consenting to be vaccinated.  Catholics and others who share a Pro Life point of view may play an important role in the future of vaccine policy by pressuring the vaccine industry and policymakers to adopt alternative strategies for vaccine research and production.

Shocking Examples of Aborted Fetal Cells Used by the Food and Cosmetic Industry

With a little further probing, you'll discover the practice of using aborted fetal cell lines extends far beyond vaccines.  Biotech companies are using these cell lines in the research and development of products ranging from soup to anti-aging skin creams. For example, a San Francisco cosmetics company, Neocutis Inc., acknowledges that the key ingredient in its anti-aging skin care line, PSP, was developed from an aborted and donated male fetus. The use of fetal tissue in anti-wrinkle creams certainly crosses moral and ethical boundaries for most consumers, especially when companies choose to HIDE this information. But it gets worse…

Cells from an aborted fetus may have been used to create flavor enhancers for your soup or soft drink. Yes, you read that right.

PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, and Nestle are reported to have partnered with a biotech firm called Senomyx, which uses human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted fetus (HEK 293) in their product testing to find flavors that will positively affect human taste receptors.

When this news leaked, Campbell soup responded to an outraged public by severing all ties with Senomyx. However, PepsiCo has maintained their relationship with the company, saying the collaboration is necessary for creating low-calorie, tasty products for their consumers.

REALLY? Must they really use human fetal cells just to make soda pop taste good?

This makes me wonder how many companies out there are engaging in such practices that we haven't yet discovered. If they've been doing this with vaccines, cosmetics and food, I wonder what else they might be doing.

Take Action Now!

NVIC has provided a webpage to educate you about vaccine contamination that could harm your health.  There is also a Vaccine Ingredients Calculator on NVIC's website that helps you learn about what kinds of human protein, DNA, chemicals and other ingredients are in vaccines. NVIC publishes a Vaccine E-newsletter regularly with alerts about vaccine policy and law updates that you can subscribe to, free of charge.

NVIC supports and defends your right to make fully informed, voluntary decisions regarding pharmaceutical products, including vaccines. This includes the right to know EXACTLY what is in vaccines and how vaccine ingredients could affect your health.

Included on the page are clear steps for how you can take action, plus many useful resources.

For more information about vaccines, I also invite you to visit my vaccine news page.