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rug

(82,333 posts)
Fri Nov 14, 2014, 04:59 PM Nov 2014

The tense standoff between Catholic bishops and the Kenyan government over tetanus vaccines



By Abby Ohlheiser
November 14 at 12:02 PM

The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Kenyan Health Ministry are locked in a heated battle over the safety of a tetanus vaccine that's being administered to women in the country. Although the government, UNICEF and the World Health Organization have all said that the vaccine is safe, the country's Catholic leaders say they have proof that the doses given to Kenyan women since March are "laced" with a fertility-inhibiting hormone.

That accusation, which was made in a public statement last week, carried the signature of about two dozen Kenyan Catholic leaders, including Cardinal John Njue, the archbishop of Nairobi. The controversy has since been taken up by the Kenyan parliament.

The accusations are the latest to target a long-running vaccination program, sponsored by WHO and UNICEF, which inoculates women of reproductive age against tetanus. Despite several controversies over the past few decades, there's no definitive proof that the current or previous tetanus inoculation campaigns have produced mass sterilizations in inoculated women as charged.

But the bishops' conference believes it finally has that proof and has come out swinging against the government-run program with a litany of accusations and charges about science and secrecy. "We shall not waver in calling upon all Kenyans to avoid the tetanus vaccination campaign laced with Beta-HCG, because we are convinced that it is indeed a disguised population control programme," the bishops said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/11/14/the-tense-standoff-between-catholic-bishops-and-the-kenyan-government-over-tetanus-vaccines/

What is the claim, that the vaccines are unsafe or that they are contraceptive?

If it's the former, the opinion of the Health Ministry trumps the opinion of the bishops.

If it's the latter, why are they throwing up a smokescreen about it being unsafe?
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The tense standoff between Catholic bishops and the Kenyan government over tetanus vaccines (Original Post) rug Nov 2014 OP
I have heard the claim that the vaccines contained a contraceptive goldent Nov 2014 #1
Wel, they're not very precise in what the consider to be a contraceptive. rug Nov 2014 #2

goldent

(1,582 posts)
1. I have heard the claim that the vaccines contained a contraceptive
Mon Nov 17, 2014, 09:03 PM
Nov 2014

I'm skeptical - but if true it would be beyond belief

 

rug

(82,333 posts)
2. Wel, they're not very precise in what the consider to be a contraceptive.
Mon Nov 17, 2014, 09:10 PM
Nov 2014

There are many things that may incidentally have a contraceptive effect, but that's not the purpose.

Have they forgotten about the principle of double effect?

http://sites.saintmarys.edu/~incandel/doubleeffect.html

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