Should Parents Be Allowed To Vaccinate Children

Recently, many diseases that had been eradicated because of childhood vaccinations have been making an appearance. Health officials are concerned that diseases will spread and lives will be lost. Officials all agree that vaccinations will benefit the population. Some parents feel it is an infringement on the right to keep the children healthy and safe. Vaccinations should be mandatory for all children because it will prevent diseases from spreading, protect future generations, and save children and parents time and money.

Some people oppose vaccinations and compulsory immunisation requirements, believing that parents should have the right to choose whether or not they wish to vaccinate their children. Some people also believe that vaccinations are potentially harmful due to the presence of toxic chemicals, such as mercury, formaldehyde and aluminium, within their make up (The Healthy Home Economist, 2010; International Medical Council on Vaccination, 2011). These theories were encouraged by a paper published in 1998 supposedly linking the MMR vaccine with the development of autism in children. However, it was later found that this paper had been falsified, and it was eventually retracted in 2010. It is thought, by some, that the pharmaceutical companies producing vaccinations cannot be trusted, as they are money oriented and have been accused of

The purpose of this research is to find whether there is an actual link between childhood vaccines (MMR) and autism. The research also aimed to dispute the notion that MMR vaccines caused autism.

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

For recurrent generations, there encompasses numerous controversies surrounding vaccinations for children in addition to the unfavorable reactions that may arise. The chief concerns are whether vaccinating causes serious developmental delays such as autism in children. The aim of this composition is to enlighten others that vaccinating children does not bring about autism. By means of scientific exploration along with advanced medical diagnosis in children, researchers currently recognize that the increase in autism claims are not vaccine linked.

In the United States, the law states that vaccinations are required for children entering school unless they have a valid reason that prevents them from receiving the vaccinations. Starting when children are born, they begin the regimen of vaccinations that continue throughout their adolescent years and adulthood. Each year children receive a variation of shots to protect them from the illnesses they will encounter in the world, especially once they attend school. The most common reasons parents forego getting their children vaccinated are religious beliefs, medical exemptions, and personal beliefs. Due to the rising number of parents declining to get their children vaccinated, the number of outbreaks of preventable diseases has increased. The question is now should parents/guardians be forced to vaccinate their children?

Today, parents are not vaccinating their children for a number of reasons, whether it is religious beliefs, it is not natural, and some parents are even trying to link vaccinations to the rise in autism. This however has been proven false and stated in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The increase in vaccinations and the increase in children with autism happened at the same time, which leads some parents to believe that is why their child was diagnosed with autism, but this is correlation not causation. There is no real scientific test to diagnose autism and it is based off of the child’s social and communication skills and their behavior. A retrospective study was done from 1980 to 1994 where scientist recorded the amount of children receiving the measles vaccination and the amount of children diagnosed with autism. Over this time span, there was only a 10% increase in the amount of children receiving the MMR vaccine and 572% increase in children with autism. If the MMR vaccine was the cause of autism, then they should have increased at the same rate and therefore concluding that autism is caused by other unknown factors.

The opposing side says that vaccines can cause serious and fatal side effects, and that vaccines can contain harmful ingredients. That is why they believe that parents should have the right to decide if their kids get vaccinated. However, they are wrong because more kids are saved because of vaccines than the amount of kids that suffer from a serious or fatal side effect due to vaccines. Vaccines may contain harmful ingredients and have a chance of causing a side effect, but the amount of kids vaccines save is still greater than the amount of kids killed by

In April, California’s State Legislature moved forward a bill that would make it mandatory for children enrolled in public schools to be vaccinated, regardless of religious or personal beliefs. If the parents still do not want to vaccinate their children than they must homeschool them. In return, this sparked a huge debate on whether or not the bill should be passed. Just like almost anything there are pros and cons for parents vaccinating their child(ren). Some of the pros being: vaccines can save children’s lives; they protect the communities that children live in;

Immunizations protect children from dangerous diseases, which include: diphtheria, meningitis, tetanus, polio, measles, and the whooping cough (Vaccines, 2015). The controversial debate arose in 1998 concerning a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism by Andrew Wakefield. However, his claims and theories on the matter has been discredited due to his

A recent controversy has been, whether parents should or should not be permitted to opt their children out of required vaccinations. Parents should not be able to opt out of required vaccinations because they are beneficial and can cause serious risks if not taken. In “Refusing Vaccinations Puts Others At Risk”, Ronald Bailey remarks that parents are putting others at risk by not vaccinating their children. In the article “The Return of Measles”, Seth Mnookin stated as well, that by opting out of vaccinations, others can be put in jeopardy. Although there is also another side of this controversy with people who believe parents have a right to opt their children out of vaccinations. In an excerpt from “Vaccinations and Free Will”. Jeffrey A. Singer implies that people cannot be forced to have their child receive a vaccination. Finally, in “The Science is Not Settled”, Sandy Reider claims that vaccinations cause further harm than good. While Reider and Singer claim that parents should be able to opt out, it is clear that parents should not be able to opt out because it places others around them in danger.

Most of today's society imagines a “perfect life” graduating high school then college, finding your “dream” job, marrying the man of your dreams and finally having children. In today's society vaccinating your child has become a dilemma among young parents. One of the main reasons there is a dilemma is Autism is being linked to the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccinations. Doctors recommend everyone be vaccinated in order to protected from three potential illnesses. (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) Vaccine. (2014, September 11). Retrieved April 7, 2015.) The (MMR) vaccination is two series of shots. The vaccinations are recommended to be administered at a young age. The first series of shots is typically given between the ages of twelve

On one end of the spectrum, parents feel strongly about vaccinations, and it is the main cause, millions of children’s lives are saved. Parents believe that it is their right to choose; therefore,

Vaccinations should be mandatory for children because the benefits outweigh the side effects, they decrease the likely hood of a disease outbreak, and saves children 's lives. However, it is possible that this type of law could set a president for the government to start making other medical decisions for its citizens.

If parents were to stop vaccinating their children then outbreaks of diseases would start happening again. For example, Japan’s citizens stopped giving their children the whooping cough vaccines because false rumors that the vaccine causes illness spread across the country. In 1975, only ten percent of Japan’s infants received the vaccine; because of this over thirteen-thousand cases of pertussis ( whooping cough) appeared and over forty-one deaths occurred (CDC). if Japan would have made the pertussis vaccine mandatory then the amount of whooping cough cases would have decreased because the parents would have continued to give their children the vaccine and then the forty-one children most likely would not have died. America should make vaccines mandatory before the parents of the U.S stop vaccinating their kids and outbreaks start to occur. If everyone were properly vaccinated than medical officials could eradicate detrimental diseases. It is estimated that because smallpox was eradicated that five million lives are saved a year. (UNICEF) Polio is on its way to being eradicated with eighty-percent of the world being vaccinated. (CDC) If vaccines are mandatory then everybody will be vaccinated which will lead to complete elimination of the disease. If the vaccines are administered properly to everyone on earth, than sixteen million lives would be saved in this year alone. By expunging theses diseases, we are