Legal Action

Aborted Fetal Material in COVID-19 Vaccines

ICAN SEEKS TO CONFIRM MICHIGAN IS COMPLYING WITH A RECENT LAW THAT REQUIRES IT TO DISCLOSE WHICH VACCINES ARE DEVELOPED USING ABORTED FETAL TISSUE

ICAN wrote to Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services to request, as required by law, a copy of the documents by which COVID-19 vaccine recipients are being provided information regarding the use of fetal tissue or cells in developing these vaccines. 

A newly enacted Michigan law requires that: “A recipient of a COVID-19 vaccine … shall be provided with information or informed if and in what manner the development of the vaccine utilized aborted fetal tissue or human embryonic stem cell derivation lines.”   ICAN sent a letter to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on May 4, 2021 seeking a copy of the document(s) by which COVID-19 vaccine recipients are being provided this information.

The development of each of the three current COVID-19 vaccines currently in use involved aborted fetal tissue or human embryonic stem cell derivation lines:

  • Johnson & Johnson/Janssen:  Fetal cell cultures are used to produce and manufacture the J&J COVID-19 vaccine and the final formulation of this vaccine includes residual amounts of the fetal host cell proteins (≤0.15 mcg) and/or host cell DNA (≤3 ng).
  • Pfizer/BioNTech:  The HEK-293 abortion-related cell line was used in research related to the development of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Moderna/NIAID: Aborted fetal cell lines were used in both the development and testing of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.