MORAL REFLECTIONS ON CHILDHOOD & ADULT VACCINES AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA

Updates: This document was updated last on 23.01.08, and I would welcome any suggestions or corrections. Please e-mail me at vaccinations [AT] journeywithgod [DOT] org (replace [AT] with @ and [DOT] with . and remove any spaces).

Introduction: I am a Catholic father and husband that (as a result of the birth of our child and God's Providence) started to research the Church's teaching on vaccines. What I found was profound, and therefore I would like to share these findings with all Christians, and al those that are endeavouring to be morally correct in their actions. This work is dedicated to Our Holy Mother (As our previous Holy Father used to say: 'Totus Tuus' [1]).

Considering that the research involved accessing many different departments, agencies and websites I have decided to make a "reference list" at the bottom of this page. Please review the different sources quoted as they often contain more information that may assist you in forming your own conscience about these matters.

The moral issue:

This is something that every person who is considering having themselves or their child vaccinated should now: The production of certain vaccines is connected with acts of procured abortion.

A good document on this can be found on the Vatican Pontifical Academy for Life (established by Pope John Paul II [2]) website: "Moral Reflections On Vaccines Prepared From Cells Derived From Aborted Foetuses" [3] (please read this document first and then return here)

In short, I think that this document can be summarized using the following excerpts:

1. The vaccines that are incriminated today as using human cell lines (WI-38 and MRC-5) from aborted foetuses, are the following:
   A)Live vaccines against rubella:
   -the monovalent vaccines against rubella Meruvax®II (Merck) (U.S.), Rudivax® (Sanofi Pasteur, Fr.), and Ervevax® (RA 27/3) (GlaxoSmithKline, Belgium);
   -the combined vaccine MR against rubella and measles, commercialized with the name of M-R-VAX® (Merck, US) and Rudi-Rouvax® (AVP, France);
   -the combined vaccine against rubella and mumps marketed under the name of Biavax®II (Merck, U.S.),
   -the combined vaccine MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) against rubella, mumps and measles, marketed under the name of M-M-R® II (Merck, US), R.O.R.®, Trimovax® (Sanofi Pasteur, Fr.), and Priorix® (GlaxoSmithKline UK).
   B) Other vaccines, also prepared using human cell lines from aborted foetuses:
   - two vaccines against hepatitis A, one produced by Merck (VAQTA), the other one produced by GlaxoSmithKline (HAVRIX), both of them being prepared using MRC-5;
   - one vaccine against chicken pox, Varivax®, produced by Merck using WI-38 and MRC-5;
   - one vaccine against poliomyelitis, the inactivated polio virus vaccine Poliovax® (Aventis-Pasteur, Fr.) using MRC-5;
   - one vaccine against rabies, Imovax®, produced by Aventis Pasteur, harvested from infected human diploid cells, MRC-5 strain;
   - one vaccine against smallpox, ACAM 1000, prepared by Acambis using MRC-5, still on trial.
2. There is a grave responsibility to use alternative vaccines and to make a conscientious objection with regard to those which have moral problems;
3. as regards the vaccines without an alternative, the need to contest so that others may be prepared must be reaffirmed, as should be the lawfulness of using the former in the meantime insomuch as is necessary in order to avoid a serious risk not only for one’s own children but also, and perhaps more specifically, for the health conditions of the population as a whole – especially for pregnant women;
4. the lawfulness of the use of these vaccines should not be misinterpreted as a declaration of the lawfulness of their production, marketing and use, but is to be understood as being a passive material cooperation and, in its mildest and remotest sense, also active, morally justified as an extrema ratio due to the necessity to provide for the good of one’s children and of the people who come in contact with the children (pregnant women);
5. such cooperation occurs in a context of moral coercion of the conscience of parents, who are forced to choose to act against their conscience or otherwise, to put the health of their children and of the population as a whole at risk. This is an unjust alternative choice, which must be eliminated as soon as possible.

Looking at each of these points individually:

Point 1: In relation to the morally objectionable vaccines

Glossary:

'Pertussis' is the same as 'whooping cough'
'Hepatitis B' is not the same as 'Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)'
'Hib' is the same as 'Haemophilus influenzae type b'
'Poliomyelitis' is the same as 'Polio'
'Varicella' is the same as 'Chicken Pox'

Sources used:

A. For Australia, there are a number of vaccines available that are morally objectionable. A good starting point for in-depth research is the following document from eMJA "The Medical Journal of Australia": "Vaccine components and constituents: responding to consumer concerns" [4]. Of special interest in this document is the list of childhood and travel vaccines listed in the "Conclusions" section (be careful printing this document as the list of vaccines does not always print correctly - double check to make sure you have the entire list)

B. The list of vaccinations to be administered (provided by Medicare Australia): "Current Immunisation Schedule" [5]

Comparing these 2 lists we can identify a number of certain and/or possible moral issues with using certain vaccinations:

A few notes first about this list:

• It is created preliminary for our own personal use, although it will serve most common Australian families that want to proceed without moral issues as well. What I mean by this is that there are other vaccines available that are not listed or researched here. Use the 3 documents described above (Vatican, eMJA and Medicare) together with the information of the various pharmaceutical companies to make further conclusions on different vaccines.
• This list deals with the vaccines used up to about 11 months. When our child is growing older I will provide more research on the 12, 18 and 48 months of age vaccinations.
• I wanted to create a simple list that parents could use to make a quick decision about what is moral and what isn't.
• We decided NOT to allow our child to be given a 'Hepatitis B' injection at birth since the risk of infection seemed low to us (more on this below). Therefore the vaccine normally used here has NOT been researched. You will need to do your own research on this. A good starting point is the procedure described in the next point - start by calling your local/chosen maternity unit to find out what vaccine against 'Hepatitis B' they give at birth.
• Procedure used for researching vaccinations:
  1. Use the Medicare list to view what vaccinations are due when.
  2. Contact your local doctor or hospital and find out exactly what vaccine they are planning to use and when.
  3. Verify that the vaccine is not listed on the Vatican document. This is your first assurance.
  4. Consult the eMJA list and verify that the vaccine was not created used human cell lines (see the "cells" column in the "Conclusions" section). This is your second assurance.
  5. Contact the pharmaceutical company that is creating the vaccine and ask them whetter the vaccine was created using human cell lines. This is your third assurance.
  6. If 3, 4 and 5 all proved negative and you've located as to how the vaccine was created (possibly using egg, yeast or animal cell lines or otherwise) then you've got a fairly accurate assurance the vaccine was not created using aborted foetuses. If however, you found that human cell lines where used you need to delve (much) deeper to ensure that this vaccine you're researching was not created using aborted foetuses.
• You can contact GSK Medical Information on 1300 652 353 (ask for medical information) or 1800 033 109 (same)
• You can contact Wyeth on 02 8850 8200 (9am-5pm Mon-Fri) (ask for medical information about vaccines) or 1800 555 057 (this is consumer healthcare number - you may need to ask to be transferred to medical information about vaccines) (8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri)
• I have contacted GSK and Wyeth to confirm that Infanrix® Hexa, Prevenar and Rotarix® were not created using human cell lines of aborted foetuses.

Age	Disease immunised against	Moral or Unmoral Vaccine?
Birth	Hepatitis B	Not researched
2 months	Diphtheria	Infanrix® Hexa: 2m (GSK) See note on Hepatitis B [note]
	Tetanus
	Pertussis
	Polio
	Hib
	Hepatitis B
	Pneumococcal (refer to note 1)	Prevenar (Wyeth)
	Rotavirus (refer to note 5)	Rotarix®: after 6 weeks of age & before 14 weeks (GSK)
4 months	Diphtheria	Infanrix® Hexa: 4m (GSK) See note on Hepatitis B [note]
	Tetanus
	Pertussis
	Polio
	Hib
	Hepatitis B
	Pneumococcal (refer to note 1)	Prevenar (Wyeth)
	Rotavirus (refer to note 5)	Rotarix®: before 24 weeks of age & more than 4 weeks since last one (GSK)
6 months	Diphtheria	Infanrix® Hexa: 6m (GSK) See note on Hepatitis B [note]
	Tetanus
	Pertussis
	Polio
	Hib (refer to note 2)
	Hepatitis B (or at 12 months)
	Pneumococcal (refer to note 1)	Prevenar (Wyeth)
	Rotavirus (refer to note 5)	Not necessary if Rotarix® was used (refer to note #6 on the Medicare site)
12 months	Measles	Priorix: DO NOT USE - MORAL ISSUE
	Mumps
	Rubella
	Hib	Not researched yet
	Hepatitis B (or at 6 months)	Not researched yet
	Meningococcal C (refer to note 3)	Not researched yet
18 months	Varicella (refer to note 4)	(Varivax vaccine - Chicken Pox) - DO NOT USE - MORAL ISSUE
4 years / 48 months	Diphtheria	Not researched yet
	Tetanus	Not researched yet
	Pertussis	Not researched yet
	Polio	Not researched yet
	Measles	Priorix: DO NOT USE - MORAL ISSUE
	Mumps
	Rubella

Summary of this table:

• There is NO moral vaccine available yet for protection against Measles, Mumps & Rubella
• There is likely NO moral vaccine available yet for protection against Varicella/Chicken Pox, although I need to research this further
• There are moral vaccines available for Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Hib, Hepatitis B (but see this note), Pneumococcal and Rotavirus and;
  • I have verified that for these diseases Infanrix® Hexa, Prevenar and Rotarix can be taken (being moral vaccines)
• I have not researched the 'Hepatitis B' vaccine given at birth, and;
• I have not yet researched the vaccines for 12, 18 and 48 months of age

2 Warnings:

• In the medical information about Infanrix® Hexa you may read that there is a high occurrence of fever when it is administered together with Prevenar. It may be best to make 2 separate appointments with your doctor to ensure this does not happen to your child.
• After the doctor administers Rotarix® parents have to wash their hands and have good hand hygiene when changing babies' nappies for some time (check with doctor) to ensure not spreading the disease to other children. Parents themselves do not need to be vaccinated as their immune system has normally already been exposed and build up enough to prevent them from receiving disease.

Information on vaccines from the pharmaceutical companies:

• Infanrix Hexa® [6]
• Prevenar [7]
• Rotarix® [8]

Further notes and considerations when using this list:

• Note on Hepatitis B: during my research I found a statement by another Christian that I think is worth mentioning:
  
  "The Hepatitis-B vaccine protects against a disease that is only transmitted through multiple sexual partners or street IV drug users and therefore usurps my parental authority to condemn such activity in my child. The acceptance of this vaccine promotes sexual promiscuity and immoral behavior in direct contradiction to the teachings of our faith."
  
  I do not know what the Church's stand is on this (it does not seem that anyone has raised or put a question forward about this issue) so my following statement is made with the reservation that if Holy Mother Church had anything to say about this that I would listen to and accept her understanding of this and not to my own. I have asked the Vatican Pontifical Academy for Life this question via an e-mail and will update this website if more information becomes available.
  
  For the moment, and to us personally, although he or she does seem to make some point at first impression, this seems a bit far fetched, as it is at least partially incorrect given that there are other ways in which Hepatitis-B could be spread (like blood transfusions and transmission between family members within households, possibly by contact of nonintact skin or mucous membrane with secretions or saliva containing the virus [9]). Another consideration is that at least 30% of reported Hepatitis B among adults cannot be associated with an identifiable risk factor [10]. Hepatitis B is also found to be highly prevalent in certain indigenous groups in Australia [11], increasing the risk factor of infection (since 30% (as stated above) of reported Hepatitis B amongst adults cannot be associated with an identifiable risk factor). A further error in this statement is that 1) it does not have to be 'multiple' sexual partners, and 2) the consideration that (in the case where the child grows up and marries) the child's future spouse or husband may have previously attracted Hepatitis B through sexual conduct, through the other ways mentioned above, or through the other 30% of unclear infections.

Point 2: In relation to our duties to ourselves, our children and society

The Vatican document is clear on this:

"We have a grave responsibility to use alternative vaccines and to make a conscientious objection with regard to those which have moral problems"

The list of available moral vaccines that we have used can be found above, or you can do your own research, using the procedure listed above.

As indicated, we have to "make a conscientious objection with regard to those which have moral problems". This can be done quite easily by filling out this form: "Medicare Australia Conscientious Objection Form" [12]. This form has to be signed by your healthcare provider as well. As far as our research goes, this will NOT affect your eligibility for a payment for Vaccinations under the Australian Family Tax Benefit System.

Point 3A: In relation to our duties to society

The Vatican document states: "such cooperation occurs in a context of moral coercion of the conscience of parents, who are forced to choose to act against their conscience or otherwise, to put the health of their children and of the population as a whole at risk. This is an unjust alternative choice, which must be eliminated as soon as possible."

It further clarifies our duties in relation to society: "as regards the vaccines without an alternative, the need to contest so that others may be prepared must be reaffirmed"

This can be done by contacting the current Minister of Health using e-mail:

To do this, go to the Department of Health and Ageing Website Homepage [13] and follow these steps:

1. Click on the blue "Ministers" button on the top navigation bar
2. Click on the first option in the list that opens (i.e. the current Minister of Health and Ageing) (currently at 22.01.08 "The Hon Nicola Roxon MP - Minister for Health and Ageing")
3. Click on "Contact <name>" on the bottom left in the sidebar menu (currently "Contact Nicola Roxon")
4. Click on the e-mail address shown and your e-mail program (like outlook express should open). Here is a suggested letter:

5. Also add your name, address, phone, and e-mail to the bottom of this letter so that the Health Minister may be aware that this letter he or she is receiving is from different people.

Alternatively, you can also use the address details shown on the website above to send a letter rather than an e-mail. The current mail contact details for the minister are:

The Hon Nicola Roxon MP, Minister for Health and Ageing
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Please check to ensure Nicola Roxon is still the minister for health and ageing and the time of sending your letter.

Point 3B & 4 & 5: In relation to our rights to protect our children & the morality of such decisions

The Vatican document continues: as should be [affirmed] the lawfulness of using the former [vaccines without an alternative] in the meantime insomuch as is necessary in order to avoid a serious risk not only for one’s own children but also, and perhaps more specifically, for the health conditions of the population as a whole – especially for pregnant women;

For us this meant that if there is a serious risk for one’s own children but also, and perhaps more specifically, for the health conditions of the population as a whole – especially for pregnant women we may consider the taking the vaccines without an alternative as 'lawfull'. However, as is explained clearly in point 4:

The lawfulness of the use of these vaccines should not be misinterpreted as a declaration of the lawfulness of their production, marketing and use, but is to be understood as being a passive material cooperation and, in its mildest and remotest sense, also active, morally justified as an extrema ratio due to the necessity to provide for the good of one’s children and of the people who come in contact with the children (pregnant women);

So the use of these vaccines is a 'passive material cooperation and, in its mildest and remotest sense, also active [cooperation]'. In other words: it is to some degree sinful as it is connected with acts of procured abortion. They could however be "morally justified" as "an extrema ratio" as per the statement above.

For us this meant that we had to research if "an extrema ratio"/"serious risk" would apply for us.

We found the following information:

Measles: Incidence rate was less than 1/100,000 population in 2003 in Australia [14]

Mumps: No current outbreak in Australia [15] and "While it is rare for mumps infections to cause severe problems, there have been some deaths from mumps (in Australia there were ten deaths between 1978 and 1997, and in 2000 there were 2 deaths, both of men over 80 years old.)" [16]

Rubella: Rubella is now rare in countries such as Australia, but it is still a common cause of miscarriages and stillbirth, congenital blindness (ie. blindness present at birth), deafness and heart problems in countries where immunisation is not available. [17]

After researching this we, in our opinion, concluded that "an extrema ratio"/"serious risk" does certainly not apply for us, furthered by the choice to avoid all moral evil, and as such we will refuse to have our children vaccinated with morally objectionable vaccines.

References:

[1] "Totus Tuus" - Holy See Press Office. http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/insigne/totus-tuus_en.html
[2] "About Us" - Vatican Pontifical Academy for Life. http://www.academiavita.org/template.jsp?sez=ChiSiamo&pag=intro&scroll=yes
[3] "Moral Reflections On Vaccines Prepared From Cells Derived From Aborted Foetuses" - Academia Pro Vita. http://www.academiavita.org/template.jsp?sez=Documenti&pag=testo/vacc/vacc&lang=english
[4] "Vaccine components and constituents: responding to consumer concerns" - MJA. http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/184_04_200206/eld10500_fm.html
[5] "Current Immunisation Schedule" - Medicare Australia. http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/provider/patients/acir/schedule.shtml
[6] "Infanrix® Hexa" - GlaxoSmithKline Australia. http://www.gsk.com.au/products_vaccines_detail.aspx?view=44
[7] "Prevenar" - Wyeth Australia. http://secure.healthlinks.net.au/content/wyeth/index.cfm?product=wycpreve11007
[8] "Rotarix®" - GlaxoSmithKline Australia. http://www.gsk.com.au/products_vaccines_detail.aspx?view=73
[9] "Hepatitis B" - Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis_B
[10] "Epidemiology of hepatitis B" - Shapiro CN. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=8392167
[11] "The Yellow Book" - NatHNac. http://www.nathnac.org/yellow_book/03.htm
[12] "Conscientious Objection Form" - Medicare Australia. http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/provider/pubs/forms/files/ma_conscientious_objection_form.pdf
[13] "Homepage" - Department of Health and Ageing. http://www.health.gov.au/
[14] "Reported measles incidence rate per 100,000 population, 2003" - World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/vaccines-surveillance/graphics/NY_graphics/glob_inc_measles_map.jpg
[15] "Mumps" - Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumps
[16] "Parenting and Child Health - Health Topics - Mumps" - Children, Youth and Woman's Health Service. http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=303&id=1784
[17] "Teen Health - Health Topics - Rubella" - http://cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=243&np=292&id=2213