(ChurchLeaders) After Australia announced a deal with AstraZeneca that will provide free COVID-19 vaccines to all citizens upon approval for human use, religious leaders wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison about moral and ethical concerns.
The Oxford vaccine, one of dozens being tested, relies on a line of stem cells originally obtained from an aborted fetus. Though scientists say that’s standard practice—and necessary to ensure safe use on humans—some religious groups oppose it for ethical reasons.