Introduction
Vaccination of children is a standard health precaution recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as a method to prevent outbreaks of deadly illnesses. My personal position states that vaccination should be required as a scientifically-based medical procedure that protects personal and social health. Currently, no federal laws in the US require vaccination. However, most educational institutions and programs establish guidelines on their own (ProCon, 2017). The following premises are used to justify that vaccination of children should not be mandatory.
Main body
Vaccinations can result in severe and possibly fatal side-effects, such as an allergic reaction. This position is helpful in understanding the fear that parents may have of vaccinating their children. It is interesting since there is a provided scientific basis for the choice to abstain. If I believed this view, I would notice a significant amount of studies noting that vaccination may unpredictably result in anaphylaxis, mental illnesses, or the death of a child.
Since such premises appeal directly to fear, it is easy to gain supporters from parents who are either reluctant or attempting to find a reason for a tragedy that already occurred. This idea is exemplified in reality by government health organizations reporting that vaccines may cause a variety of health problems for practically every type of immunization. Although, serious issues are rare and carefully monitored, a minuscule percentage of children experiences severe infections, brain reaction, or death (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). The fact that this information is official and not based on inaccurate perceptions worries many parents.
Several religious congregations maintain that mandatory vaccination infringes constitutionally protected rights to religious freedom. As vaccines are opposed by the religious dogma of specific groups, any requirement to obtain them essentially forces members to violate spiritual beliefs. This perspective is interesting as it helps to establish a philosophical or religious basis for people opposing vaccination.
Since many groups hold the spiritual law in high regard, any action to violate it can jeopardize the salvation or holiness of a person in that specific religion. A follower of this belief may take notice and choose to protest numerous policies that require vaccination for children in order to participate in public education. This idea becomes a reality when examining the U.S. Constitution which mandates that persons be given the right to religious freedom and practices.
The First Amendment has often been used as the basis for allowing a religious exemption clause. However, a continuous abuse of the exemption and the recent case law has resulted in states severely limiting or eliminating this procedure. Since there are no federal laws or Supreme Court decisions on the matter, proponents are citing a violation of Constitutional rights (Greendyk, 2016). The argument essentially centers around government intervention.
The final argument states that the government has no authority to interfere in personal medical choices, including those that parents choose to make for their children. This view represents a more political side to the argument as proponents feel that individual freedoms are violated when the state can control citizens in making decisions about their physical health. A follower of this belief may be more aware of various personal freedoms that the government chooses to violate through policy as this can set a precedent for abuse of power by the state.
This becomes a reality when governments choose to implement other restrictions based on the defense of protecting public health. Even there is a substantial benefit to vaccination of children; the government should rely on public trust and education rather than forced coercion (Olson, 2013).
Conclusion
It is evident that this side of the argument seeks to justify avoiding vaccination of children as a method of protection from harmful substances and government intervention in personal freedoms. The premises are based on ideology and interpretation of religious beliefs. When analyzing the issue, it is difficult to consider the logic of such arguments as they are inherently fallacious. However, the freedom of choice and religious beliefs that supporters of this position choose to preserve should be respected.
References
Greendyk, H. (2016). Mandatory vaccination: First amendment considerations. Web.
Olson, M. (2013). Should the government mandate vaccinations? Web.
ProCon. (2017). Should any vaccines be required for children? Web.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2017). Possible side-effects from vaccines. Web.