Episode 44: Mary Anne Urlakis interviews Stacy Trasancos presents on COVID19 vaccinations (March 23, 2021)

Dr. Stacy Trasancos joins Dr. Mary Anne Urlakis for Episode 44 of WCAT Radio’s “Inter Vitam et Mortem: Between Life and Death: Interviews and Discussion with a Catholic Bioethicist” to discuss the current COVID vaccinations. Dr. Trasancos is a scientist, theologian, and mother; she holds a Doctorate in Chemistry from Penn State University and a Master’s in Dogmatic Theology (summa cum laude) from Holy Apostles College and Seminary. Dr. Trasancos is the Executive Director of Bishop Joseph Strickland’s St. Philip Institute of Catechesis and Evangelization in Tyler, Texas, and the Chief Research Officer of Children of God for Life. She is a Fellow of the Word on Fire Institute and an Adjunct Professor at Seton Hall University Catholic Studies program. Her work focuses on the integration of faith and science. In this episode Stacy Trasancos and Mary Anne Urlakis discuss the ethical implications of the current COVID vaccines, as well as those vaccines currently in development. Their ethical inquiry centers on three significant bioethical issues: (1) the liceity of using abortion-derived cell-lines for vaccine production, (2) the necessity of authentically informed consent, and (3) the sanctity of the human conscience and the issue of paternalism and coercion.

Dr. Trasancos is a frequent guest on Catholic media, including Relevant Radio, Ave Maria Radio, EWTN, Catholic Answers Live, and The Journey Home. She has written numerous articles for Catholic publications and is the author of Science Was Born of Christianity: The Teaching of Fr. Stanley L. Jaki and Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science (Ave Maria Press), which has also been published as a textbook for Catholic high schools and colleges.

Additionally, she has published a Catholic Answers booklet 20 Answers: Bioethics, and she writes the Science column for the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly. In her most recent book, she examines the scientific evidence for Eucharistic miracles, co-authored with Fr. George Elliott entitled Behold, It Is I: Scripture, Tradition, and Science on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (TAN Books).

More information is available on the Children of God for Life website: https://cogforlife.org. Additionally, Dr. Stacy Trasancos’ position statement regarding the use of tissue derived from abortion in the development and production of COVID vaccines can be found at National Catholic Register and Catholic Answers. Her recent webinar presentation for ITEST, the Institute for the Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, entitled: “Is it Moral to Take the COVID Vaccine?” is available at: COVID-19 Vaccine Ethics - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org).