Should the state be allowed to impose vaccinations, or should the choice be left up to the child’s parents?

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On the other side of the argument should the state be allowed to tell a parent what drugs they must administer to their child, especially when vaccines are known to contain harmful chemicals. Though it is possible to get vaccine exemptions, this is easier said than done, according to Kurt Link MD, “less than two percent of people who apply for a vaccination exemption obtain one” (qtd. in Null and Feldman). Although all states allow medical exemptions, this process is time-consuming and not always a possible solution. To illustrate, according to the government guidelines one way a child would receive a medical exemption is if they had a severe or life-threatening reaction to a certain vaccine. However, most children would never have been exposed to the chemicals found in vaccines so it would be impossible for parents to know beforehand if their child would react badly to the vaccine. Nonetheless, to prove that your child would have a severe reaction to vaccines, the child would first have to receive it to show it reacted badly. Therefore, this process somewhat defeats the purpose and may lead to irreversible consequences. Further downsides to receiving exemptions are that parents may have a hard time getting their child into certain schools, and pediatricians have been known to deny care to an unvaccinated child (Null and Feldman).
One argument in support of vaccines is that once received, the child’s immune system is strengthened, and the next time the child comes into contact with that particular disease he/she will be able to fight against it. However, studies have shown that disease outbreaks still occur in fully vaccinated areas. Dr. William Atkinson, an epidemiologist for the CDC, when examining a large measles outbreak, admi...

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...e this potentially risky decision after weighing the pros and cons. Parents, not the state, are the ones who will have to live with the consequences of this decision. On the other side of the debate, vaccine supporters contribute the success of diseases being at their lowest point to mandatory vaccinations. Furthermore, they believe if vaccines were no longer mandatory many deadly diseases would reappear. They do attest that though serious side effects might occur from vaccinations, this likelihood is so rare that it outweighs the risks. Overall, the state can not assure a parent that vaccinating their child is not unlike playing Russian roulette; all they can assure is that the chances of your child being the one to get the bullet are rare. Perhaps in the words of Albert Einstein, “Never do anything against conscience, even if the state demands it” there is wisdom.

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