Campaign for Cures
One of the main objectives of the Institute's "Campaign for Cures" is to seek an end to the use of aborted fetal cells in medical research and bio-manufacturing. There are several human cell lines derived from past abortions which the pharmaceutical industry is using in a variety of ways to generate billions of dollars annually. These cells are being used to produce vaccines, protein drugs, gene therapy and cell therapy that are either currently in use or in development.
JP2MRI has the technical resources and expertise to combat this immoral practice and offer an ethical solution. Pope St. John Paul II in Evangelium vitae stated that "the use of human embryos or fetuses as an object of experimentation constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings who have a right to the same respect owed to a child once born, just as to every person." It should also be noted these previously mentioned pharmaceutical products require administration in a hospital setting, thereby creating a dilemma that threatens Catholic healthcare. Catholic hospitals that adopt therapies derived from morally-illicit cells risk losing their Catholic identity. Conversely, those that refuse to use such technologies risk losing market share due to the perception of not offering the most cutting-edge treatments. Furthermore, pro-life healthcare providers risk losing their jobs in secular hospitals if they exercise their moral conscience and refuse to administer these products.
Since June 2019, the Institute has been working to create "immortalized" human adult stem cell lines. Most cells, including stem cells, will generally weaken and die with repeated passages for cellular growth and given time. In July, JP2MRI took 2 adult stem cells from newborn sources, one from cord blood and the other from placenta, and introduced genes in them that would hopefully immortalize these adult stem cells to serve as replacement cells for the immoral ones used in industry. Research of this nature has never been attempted before with adult stem cells. The pharmaceutical industry has always presumed that fetal cells are the only cells that can produce medicines in bio-manufacturing.
It is important to point out that current fetal cell lines in bio-manufacturing are half a century old and approaching the end of their utility. Unfortunately, there are efforts by researchers around the world of trying to source and use fresh aborted tissue to create new future cell lines. Consequently, it is critical that ethical alternative cell lines are developed and made available so that we do not have to endure another half a century or more with no ethical alternative treatment choices. Your financial support will be critical to make the "Campaign for Cures" a success. Please join the fight to support ethical research by donating today and help us spread the word.