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PHARMACEUTICAL GIANT FORCED TO ADMIT ABORTED FETAL TISSUE USED IN VACCINES

Merck & Co. Refuses to Allow Shareholders to Know of Tainted Vaccine Boycotts

FRONT ROYAL, VA, March 27, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The pro-life organizations, Children of God for Life and Human Life International, announced today that Merck & Co. has publicized the use of aborted fetal cell lines in their vaccines to shareholders.

What they failed to tell stockholders is that there is: An organized boycott of all Merck products; A resolution by the Catholic Medical Association to use alternatives to their vaccines cultivated on aborted fetal tissue and; Instruction by investment counseling organization, Pro Vita Advisors, that investors divest their Merck stock.

Due to the use of aborted fetal cell lines in vaccine production, Human Life International President Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, who purchased sufficient shares of Merck stock, demanded that fellow shareholders be informed that Merck has violated its own Statement on Values, which states in part, " We are committed to the highest standards of ethics and integrity."

In a 5-page letter to the SEC, Merck pleaded their case to keep the entire resolution from becoming public, stating that the use of aborted fetal cell lines falls under "ordinary business" and therefore should be excluded from the proxy vote. In addition, Merck refused to acknowledge that it was profiting from the destruction of human life, stating there was no "financial evidence" to prove it. Merck's net income for 2002 was
$7.2billion, with $34.6 million in viral vaccine sales.

While the SEC agreed to allow the information to be included in this year's annual meeting, Merck's attorneys were able to successfully remove most of the critical language.

To review the Merck Proxy statement being mailed to shareholders for consideration at the upcoming meeting, go to:
http://www.merck.com/finance/proxy/pr2003/proposal_4.html

To review the unabridged version of this press release with the original language of the Resolution as submitted by Human Life International go to:
http://www.cogforlife.org/merckpress.htm

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