Mandatory Vaccination Laws And A Reflection Of Opposing Views

Mandatory vaccination is an extremely controversial topic because it violates constitutionally protected right to practice religion and personal beliefs in the absence of the true health emergency (First Amendment of the Constitution). The new law destroys the individual rights of parents to make voluntary decisions in the best interest of their children in the health care decisions and diminishes the role of parents in upbringing and educating their children (Skov).

Between 1924 and 2013, vaccinations prevented 103 million cases of polio, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, diphtheria, and pertussis (Bailey). Vaccinating is “the process by which pathogenic cells are injected into a healthy person in an attempt to cause the body to develop antibodies to a particular virus or bacterium—successful creation of antibodies is referred to as immunity to the disease caused by the particular pathogen” (Introduction to Should Vaccinations be Mandatory). Popular conflicts regarding vaccination include the worry that this form of immunization isn’t natural, the idea that vaccination schedule for children in the U.S. takes away parents’ rights to make decisions for their children, and the concern that vaccinations aren’t safe for all children. Most doctors and scientists advocate for vaccinations in the name of herd immunity, protection against foreign diseases and prevention against pockets of disease outbreaks. Vaccinations should be mandatory for all children in the United States for who they are deemed safe and effective.

Vaccination was first introduced globally for small pox and later on extended to other communicable diseases which are now known as vaccine preventable disease. Vaccination is beneficial both for individuals and community. This bring us to the ethical dilemma - Vaccination of a healthy child with the intention of protecting both the individual child and the community at the same time exposing the child to the theoretical risk of exposure to disease products whether live, attenuated or killed. There was a time when people never questioned the government or their physicians. Now because of more public awareness and accessibility to medical information, they are questioning the safety aspects of vaccines.

To Vaccinate or not to vaccinate, has been a question many parents in America have been asking themselves for years. Some parents believe that it is their right to decide if their children will be vaccinated; while some states believe that all children should be vaccinated. There are logical and illogical reasons for this argument. There should be a federal law that requires parents to vaccinate their children because it will lower the number of deaths, benefit those children who have lower immune systems, and it can get rid of some diseases all together in the future.

Vaccines change over time as science makes advancements and diseases processes evolve and emerge. Around 400 BC, Hippocrates recognized the now preventable diseases, such as diphtheria and mumps (Immunization Act Coalition, 2015). The first effort to immunize dates back to the 1100’s when children were inoculated with scabs from individuals who recently had small pox, with a technique coined as variolation. Then in 1796, Edward Jenner successfully created the first small pox vaccine (Immunization Act Coalition, 2015).

Diseases and illnesses are studied constantly by doctors and scientists trying to find a cure for them. Plague and disease once ravaged our world killing thousands, with no hope or cure to prevent them from occurring. Today, however, is different. Technology is more advanced than ever, and people are living longer than ever before. Life expectancy in the United States has gone up by more than 30 years in the last decades. It isn’t by luck that many diseases now cease to exist, but through extensive studies, and research. The medical field is at the height of its studies with more people being cured of diseases than ever before. Most of this is to the credit of doctors and scientists developing vaccinations that help the body create antibodies, which help fight away diseases, and give the body immunity. I believe that forced vaccinations in children should be mandatory as they have the potential to prevent life threatening diseases, and save countless lives. Though many are against forced vaccinations and say they can cause mental illnesses or brain damage, this has not been proven. The rewards far out way the slight risk, if risk at all of the vaccination having side effects. The individuals who are not vaccinated are left vulnerable to illness, and can potentially infect those around them as well. Leaving scare of an epidemic, and wide spread of a virus. Forced vaccinations in the United States have been beneficial by preventing young children from contracting certain

Opel and Diekema (2012) say that the incidence of a disease or to develop a serious condition from the disease is not usually high enough to warrant a mandate for vaccination even though there is a general understanding that the risks of a disease outweighs the risks of the vaccine. I think that because there is a potential for harm to other children that no matter how high the incidence it should not be up to personal choice due to the harm principle. Opel and Diekema (2012) are still on the offence about mandating vaccines because they believe that it disrespects parental autonomy and their ability to make a decision for their child. However, the vaccine is there to protect

There appears to be an alarmingly large group of people that don’t mind exposing their children to serious harm; in recent years, many adults have decided against vaccinating their children. This is unusual, as vaccines are non-lethal, very safe protection for children; they are even cost-effective for their parents and are considerably safer for the entire family when these children are vaccinated routinely (Prosser, 1548). Jennifer Hamborsky of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention essentially describes vaccination as the administration of antigenic material to stimulate an individual 's immune system to develop adaptive immunity to a pathogen- and vaccination

The attention coming from the Disneyland measles outbreak has brought up a controversial issue, something as preventable as measles spreading throughout the country because parents are uneasy about vaccinating their children from childhood diseases. The issue has many parents debating each other on what is right and wrong when it comes to vaccines and children. This hot topic has been all over the news in the last few months and has many parents standing their ground. Some parents feel doctors and the government pressure them to vaccinate, they believe vaccines are unnatural and can cause harm to a child later on. Others put faith in their child’s doctor and in vaccines without question, they were vaccinated so why

Although mandatory vaccination policies are in a number of jurisdictions it is not widespread because there is a political aspect to the issue. Some governments holds sacred an individual right to determine his or her health care decisions. There also may be fear of backlash in the form of potential work disruption as seen in Ontario in 2000 when it repeal mandatory vaccination for some health care workers after it was challenged by the union.

Does getting vaccinated really have precedence over a proper education? Currently all fifty states require children to be up to date on all vaccinations to enter kindergarten (“What Would Happen”). Alice Park, a reporter for Time, reported, many parents disagree with mandated vaccine and refuse to vaccinate their children on religious or philosophical grounds. However, vaccinations help build immunity and prevent many deadly diseases. Park noted that religious and philosophical waivers make the herd-immunity effect less effective. Park explained that the herd-immunity effect takes place when the upper majority of a population is fully vaccinated, covering those who did not or cannot get vaccinated, like cancer patients and newborns who

Vaccination vs. Non Vaccination has been a very controversial issue whatever side your on re-garding your opinion you must understand that in it will effect the health of you or your children . Even tho vaccinations are based on “choice" what if i told you that your child cannot attend a public school without vaccines. Even tho all 50 states require vaccinations for children entering public schools there is no real vaccination laws that exist . Vaccinations have cost the lives of people and have cost the government money so why are they so required . One example is that about 30,000 cases of adverse side effects have be reported due to vaccines since 1990 , Most were not serious but 15% was considered life threatening and left many people permanently dis-abled , ill , hospitalized , or in some cases even dead. In another case since 1989- July 2014 The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) has paid over 133.2 million in legal coverage due to all the problem vaccinations have caused over the years

Currently, schooling districts in the United States require children to obtain vaccinations parents can enroll them for schooling. In spite of this, many children bypass this requirement by procuring an exemption. At the center of the argument for compulsory vaccination laws lies the desire to keep the population healthy. History has proven vaccines ability to do this, by eradicating deadly childhood diseases such as, smallpox, polio, and measles. I believe that not only are compulsory vaccination laws constitutional, they also serve to maintain public health. In order to argue these points, I used scientific research, United States law, and history, including previous Supreme Court cases.

Imagine two children; one who has been completely vaccinated, and the other has never been vaccinated. Both children fall ill from the same virus, but the child who had been vaccinated fully recovers, while the child who was not passes away due to complications. That child’s life could have been saved if the child received the proper vaccinations. Ever since the invention of the Smallpox vaccine more than two centuries ago, there has been an abundance of controversy over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of vaccinations and immunizations. It has recently been argued whether laws should be introduced that render some or all vaccines mandatory for all children. Parents, health care specialists, nurses, teachers, and children

All 50 states require vaccinations for children to enter kindergarten. These mandated vaccinations protect children from various diseases, such as, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, etc. These are contagious diseases that are contracted by casual contact within a school setting and have resulted in many deaths prior to the introduction of the vaccine. Mandating these vaccinations was the only solution to prevent the disease from spreading. In recent years the side effects of these vaccinations have been in question. Every child is unique and their bodies respond differently to each vaccination. Therefore, it is crucial to educate parents about all vaccinations and possible side effects. An informed parent has the right to decide whether to have their child vaccinated and when to have their child vaccinated. In 2006 the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was introduced to the vaccination repertoire for 11-12 year old females and in 2010 for same aged males (Keim-Malpass,29). This vaccination is now mandated in Rhode Island, Virginia, and The District of Columbia. This vaccination unlike the other mandated vaccinations is to prevent the spread of a sexually transmitted disease, which is not contracted casually in a school setting. Mandating the HPV vaccine has created much controversy.