The Professional Ethics Toolkit by Meyers Christopher;

Author:Meyers, Christopher;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated
Published: 2018-06-11T00:00:00+00:00

4.3 Cases

4.3.1 Mandatory vaccinations?

The year 2015 turned into that of the vaccination debate, after a late 2014 measles outbreak traced to Disneyland revealed that a significant percentage of California’s school‐aged children had not been immunized for the potentially deadly disease. The resulting media storm generated heated debate and eventual new legislation.

Parents opposed to mandatory vaccination cited questionable links to secondary illnesses, parental autonomy, and, less frequently, religious objections. Proponents noted the duty to beneficently protect other children, especially those with other medical conditions that preclude immunization and that make them all the more vulnerable to serious complications from measles. Prioritizing beneficence over parental autonomy, proponents also argued that the children of even the “anti‐vax” parents need to have their welfare protected.

The California legislature responded in 2015 by passing a bill that removed existing language that allowed exemptions based on personal or religious beliefs. Health concerns, as identified by a licensed physician, are now the only qualifying exemption. Governor Jerry Brown signed the legislation, stating, “The science is clear that vaccines dramatically protect children against a number of infectious and dangerous diseases.”

Opponents have continued to work to overturn the legislation, which took effect on July 1, 2016. Initial efforts to place an initiative on the ballot that would return the language to its original, broader verbiage failed, but other attempts continue. If you had the opportunity to vote for or against such a law, how would you vote and why?

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