Can aborted fetal cells in vaccines change DNA?

In an interview last year on FOX news, RFK Jr. claims the MMR vaccine contains millions of DNA fragments from fetal cells used to grow the vaccine virus and suggests those fragments could enter and become part of a person’s DNA.

These claims often point to a paper written by Theresa Deisher. In it, she mostly refers to her own research. Many scientists say the conclusions in the paper are not supported by good evidence. One scientist, Teja Celhar, explained that the study had serious problems with how the measurements were done. The results should have been checked using other scientific methods and by other researchers. Because this was not done, the claims are not considered reliable.

Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that cannot grow on their own. They must grow inside living cells. To make vaccines, scientists sometimes grow viruses in special cells in the lab. Some vaccines use cell lines that came from two pregnancy terminations in the 1960s. These cell lines can keep growing in the lab, so scientists can still use them today. No new fetal cells are needed to make vaccines.

Dr. Stanley Plotkin, a well-known vaccine scientist, has explained this in several videos. These cell lines help make vaccines safely because they do not carry animal viruses, they allow viruses to grow well, and they can keep reproducing for many years. Because the cells continue growing in the lab, new pregnancies are not involved.

Even though these events happened long ago, some people still have moral concerns. In 2005, the Vatican said it is acceptable for Catholics to receive certain vaccines when they help protect health. In 2017, the Vatican explained this further and said that protecting others through vaccination is an important moral responsibility.

Pope Francis also spoke about vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said about COVID vaccination, “I believe that morally everyone must take the vaccine.”

Recently, leaders across many faith communities have agreed that protecting the community is important.

People from many religions may still have questions about vaccines. Because of this, it is helpful for health groups and faith communities to work together, talk openly, and build trust.