NEW EBOLA AND HIV VACCINES WILL USE TISSUE FROM AN ABORTED BABY

CLEARWATER, FL, July 25, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Children of God for Life, a pro-life group which specializes in information on vaccines using tissue from aborted babies, has announced the discovery of plans by Crucell, N.V. and the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institutes of Health’s Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to jointly develop a new vaccine against ebola.  The vaccine will be manufactured using Crucell’s PER C6 cell line, which is derived from the retinal tissue of an 18-week-old aborted baby.  Children of God for Life has already received over 450,000 signatures in their Campaign for Ethical Vaccines.  Last fall when the Federal Government awarded a contract to Acambis for the production of a new smallpox vaccine using the aborted fetal cell line MRC-5, a massive public protest quickly mounted.  Thousands of letters poured into the offices of the CDC, FDA, HHS and the pharmaceutical companies involved in the bid process, demanding alternatives.  Thirty days later, a second contract was awarded to Acambis Baxter for 155 million more doses – but this time they will use Vero cells, not MRC-5.  Children of God for Life’s Executive Director Debi Vinnedge said: “We already have an existing campaign and petition against vaccines utilizing aborted fetal tissue – MMR, Chickenpox and Hepatitis-A.  So many parents are refusing to use these vaccines as they learn the truth about their grisly source.  They have a right to protect the health and safety of their families without violating the moral and ethical standards that once separated a civilized nation from barbarism.”  Vinnedge is asking the public to respond once again by writing formal letters of protest to Tommy Thompson at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Merck.  See the group’s website at:  www.cogforlife.org