With the recent outbreak of measles in California, many Americans are puzzled as to why some parents might choose not to vaccinate their child from a preventable disease. While the vast majority of society is pro-vaccine, some parents object to certain shots because of the way that they are made - not based on the belief that certain ingredients might cause autism, ADD, or even allergies - but based on moral grounds.
Because of the recent outbreak in California, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging parents to vaccinate their children against the measles. They warn that this year could present the highest number of measles cases since the disease was virtually eradicated in the United States in the year 2000.
According to Dr. Robert Sears, MD, measles are spread like the common cold and can be quite serious; mild cases of the measles involve a rash, fever, runny nose, and a cough which lasts for about a week, and more severe cases can result in a high fever, an ear infection, pneumonia, or encephalitis. The fatality rate from measles is 1 in 1,000 for those who contract the disease, and about 600 cases were reported in the U.S. last year.
While the disease is rare in America, most parents choose to vaccinate their children as a preventive measure. Many are unaware, however, that the MMR vaccine is made using cells from aborted babies - from a girl who was just three months old in her mother's womb and a fourteen-week-old baby boy.
The Hepatitis A and Chickenpox vaccines are also made this way, and their product inserts specify that proteins and residual DNA from the aborted children are present in the shots.
This poses a question: would you willingly inject your baby with something that was made from these aborted children?
For many who believe that life starts at conception, the fact that vaccines are made using aborted children is grievous. Psalm 139:13-14 says:
"For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well" (English Standard Version).
"Using abortion-tainted vaccines encourages abortion just as does purchasing any other product derived from fetal tissue," writes Jameson Taylor from the Catholic Education Resource Center - "Parents must determine for themselves after much prayer and study whether they can conscientiously use these vaccines."
