A Kentucky teenager who sued his school for banning him after he refused to get the chickenpox vaccine on religious grounds now has chickenpox.

Jerome Kunkel, an 18-year-old senior and basketball captain at a Catholic school in Walton, was barred from completing his final term amid a chickenpox outbreak that had, at the time, affected 32 people.

Kunkel objects to vaccines because he believes they 'contain aborted fetal cells', and he sued the school in the hope that they would overturn the policy - to no avail.

On Wednesday, a lawyer for Kunkel's family told NBC that Jerome has been battling chickenpox for a week.

Jerome Kunkel, an 18-year-old senior and basketball captain at a Catholic school in Walton, has had chickenpox for a week, his lawyer said

Kunkel objects to vaccines because he believes they 'contain aborted fetal cells', and he sued the school in the hope that they would overturn the policy

THE CATHOLIC ISSUE WITH VACCINES In the early 1960s, cells were obtained from two fetuses after two elective abortions - one in England, one in Sweden - neither of which were performed for the purpose of vaccine development. That tiny sample of cells was used to help viruses grow in the lab, which are then developed into vaccines to immunize the general public. Those fibroblast cells (and no others) are still used today to make five different vaccines: rubella, hepatitis A, varicella (for chickenpox), shingles, and one for rabies. Scientists used fetal cells for a number of reasons. Firstly, animal cells are less effective (some would say ineffective) for growing viruses that infect humans. Secondly, during the growth process, cells divide and eventually die. However, fetal cells can divide more times before dying. As a result, some Catholics are hesitant about vaccinations because abortions are regarded as a sin worthy of excommunication. The National Catholic Bioethics Center urges people to get vaccines that are not derived from these cells. However, Pope Benedict XVI, who was formerly head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, ruled that it was morally acceptable for parents to give these vaccines to their children despite their origins because Catholics believe in protecting children from suffering, harm and death. Advertisement

'These are deeply held religious beliefs, they're sincerely held beliefs,' the family's lawyer Christopher Wiest told NBC.

'From their perspective, they always recognized they were running the risk of getting it, and they were OK with it.'

Students in Kentucky are legally allowed to skip vaccines on religious grounds if they provide a sworn statement, as Kunkel did last year.

However, when the chickenpox outbreak began, Kunkel's school, Sacred Heart, declared those children did not have a right to be on public grounds.

The Northern Kentucky Health Department said all students who were not vaccinated are not allowed to attend school 'until 21 days after the onset of rash for the last ill student or staff member.'

Kunkel hit back with a lawsuit.

He fumed: 'The fact that I can't finish my senior year of basketball, like our last couple games is pretty devastating. I mean you go through four years of high school, playing basketball, but you look forward to your senior year,' CNN reported.

Chickenpox is highly infectious, but those who have the Varicella vaccine are immunized against it.

Kunkel's stance on vaccines is based on the history of how certain strains were developed.

In the early 1960s, cells were obtained from two fetuses after two elective abortions - one in England, one in Sweden - neither of which were performed for the purpose of vaccine development.

That tiny sample of cells was used to help viruses grow in the lab, which are then developed into vaccines to immunize the general public.

Those fibroblast cells (and no others) are still used today to make five different vaccines: rubella, hepatitis A, varicella (for chickenpox), shingles, and one for rabies.

Scientists used fetal cells for a number of reasons. Firstly, animal cells are less effective (some would say ineffective) for growing viruses that infect humans. Secondly, during the growth process, cells divide and eventually die. However, fetal cells can divide more times before dying.

As a result, some Catholics are hesitant about vaccinations because abortions are regarded as a sin worthy of excommunication.

The National Catholic Bioethics Center urges people to get vaccines that are not derived from these cells.

However, Pope Benedict XVI, who was formerly head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, ruled that it was morally acceptable for parents to give these vaccines to their children despite their origins because Catholics believe in protecting children from suffering, harm and death.

The Health Department responded to the lawsuit: 'The recent actions taken by the Northern Kentucky Health Department regarding the chickenpox outbreak at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart/Assumption Academy was in direct response to a public health threat and was an appropriate and necessary response to prevent further spread of this contagious illness.'