Ends and Means

I'm finishing up Margaret Attwood's Oryx and Crake and while I wonder a bit at the extreme vision of global warming and some other topics, I do find it interesting to contemplate the ramifications of the God-playing we do as a society.

This news story is along those lines.

Largo, FL — Children of God for Life's executive director, Debi Vinnedge, has issued a consumer warning that a new flu vaccine in early human testing is being produced using aborted fetal cell lines. In a January 12, 2005 letter, Vinnedge asked Vaxin, a Birmingham, Alabama biotech firm, to reconsider their decision to use PER C6 in their new flu vaccine. When the company did not respond, Vinnedge decided to go public with the information.

"There are ethical alternatives to aborted fetal cell lines for use in vaccines," said Vinnedge. "None of the current flu vaccines on the market today use objectionable sources. Why should we start now?"