Are vaccines made with fetal cells?
Here is what the checked sources say. Each title links to the original.
Vaccine ingredients: Fetal cells
Yes, some vaccines are grown in cells descended from fetal tissue: chickenpox, rubella (in MMR), hepatitis A and one rabies vaccine. Those cells came from two elective abortions in the early 1960s and the same cell lines are still used; CHOP says no new fetal tissue is needed to keep making these vaccines. Vaccines are purified and contain no fetal cells, though trace fragments of DNA or protein may remain. There are no US alternatives for the rubella, chickenpox or hepatitis A vaccines. Reviewed September 2026.
Human Cell Strains in Vaccine Development
Describes the two cell strains behind these vaccines. WI-38 was developed in 1962 in the US from lung cells of one aborted fetus; MRC-5 was developed in 1970 in the UK the same way. Both abortions were elective and were not done for vaccine development. The cells have been banked and grown for decades, and the cells used today are descendants, not the original fetal cells. The page's 2022 list of vaccines made this way includes rubella, chickenpox, shingles (Zostavax), hepatitis A and rabies; it does not say which are still sold.
Note on the morality of using some anti-Covid-19 vaccines
The Catholic Church's doctrinal office concluded it is "morally acceptable" to receive vaccines developed using cell lines from aborted fetuses when ethically uncontroversial alternatives are not available, because the recipient's connection to the original abortion is remote and passive. Receiving them does not endorse abortion. The note also says vaccination should be voluntary, and that people who decline for reasons of conscience should take other steps to avoid spreading disease. It addresses COVID-19 vaccines specifically.