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.
