Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
Bioethicist Art Caplan argues that society has the right to coerce its parents to vaccinate their children even if vaccines carry a small risk. “Parents don’t have unlimited rights with respect to the welfare of their children. You can’t kill them. You can’t put them at risk of fatal disease. You can’t put them at risk of devastating disability.”
Do parents also have a duty to the welfare of others (herd immunity)?
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Moral parents should, but lots of people are not only "me first" but also not very good at comparing relative risks (e.g. risks from vaccinating vs. not vaccinating). There are two solid arguments for making it mandatory though - the kid's right to be protected from harm (which to me should outweigh the right of the parent to decide, but I suspect I'm in the minority there) and the 'greater good' to society that arises from herd immunity.
I don't think a government-instituted mandatory vaccination program would go down well here though. At least my kid's dayhome has mandatory vaccination with no religious exemptions if you want to attend.