Dear Editor,
I can’t think of any Bible passage that deals directly with whether it is permissible to benefit from the side effects of another person’s wrongdoing, so we should be humble in expressing our interpretations. I argue that it is permissible, provided that (a) the motive for the wrongdoing was not to gain those benefits, (b) I was not an accessory in the wrongdoing and (c) I was not a bystander who failed to intervene in the wrongdoing. I may receive organs from a murder victim, as long as the murder wasn’t committed so that I would get the organs, as long as I didn’t assist, and as long as I didn’t stand by passively while the murder occurred.
The two wrongs in the case of abortion are the abortion itself and the government creating laws that legalise abortion. In neither case was the motive to create cell lines and I was not an accessory to either. Therefore, I may receive the benefits of medical research that has used cell lines derived from an aborted foetus, including the vaccine, with a clear conscience – provided that I have played my part in trying to prevent abortions and get the law changed. If I have not played my part, I am guilty of passivity in the face of great wrong, and I must repent.
As for leading others to think I approve of abortion by receiving the vaccine, this is not likely if I have played my part. Besides, this consideration has to be balanced against the blessing I am to my neighbour if I receive the vaccine. The conscience of another applies to debatable matters and it is clearly therefore a lesser consideration than doing good.
As for partaking in child sacrifice, an abortion is not normally a sacrifice to an idol. It may be a sacrifice to a figurative idol (such as greed in some form), but the passage about partaking in meat offered to idols is referring to literal idols only. An unbeliever – who doesn’t think of a figurative idol as an idol at all – will never conclude that I am taking part in idolatry because of receiving the vaccine.
I pray therefore that the result of this debate will be renewed vigour on my part and others to prevent abortion and not the prolonging of suffering caused by widespread vaccine refusal.
Yours sincerely,
John Briant, By email
