On April 1, 2016, Vaxxed premiered. It was a documentary aimed at proving the science behind the anti-vaccination movement that has gained popularity over the past 20 years. However, their science has been conclusively debunked, and the anti-vaccination movement puts others at risk. Not vaccinating your child is a public issue because it infringes on the freedom of that child and others, and needs to be discussed in the public sphere.
The issue of vaccinating children is a public issue because in the case that a parent chooses not to have their child vaccinated, they are potentially putting other people, children and adults, at risk for the diseases and viruses that they are not vaccinated for, thus violating mine and others freedom set forth by the laws of nature. Every person, when they submit to being governed are granted several rights that cannot be violated, their right to life, liberty and property.Those who choose not to vaccinate their children are infringing on the freedom of everybody else in society to remain safe within a reasonable degree. In going from a state of nature to a state of submitting to a government for the overall well being of the society, there are still some aspects that we are afforded as we are in the state of nature. One of these is the right to freedom, and while some may argue that means the freedom to choose whether or not to vaccinate their child, I argue that their choosing not to infringes on my freedom.
Under the laws of the governed, it is mandated that parents care for their children until they are old enough and mature enough to do it themselves. Parents have a responsibility as members of society to keep their children healthy under the law, until they can do so for themselves. Every parent in the state of being governed has the duty to keep their children safe in their formative years. I argue that vaccinating their child is a vital duty of the parents in relating this duty to keep their child safe until that child can do so themselves.
It is also worth mentioning that there is no conclusive data that has proven concretely that not vaccinating children benefits the child. The movement against vaccination is scientifically inconclusive and has been debunked time and again. The movement towards anti-vaccination started in the 1870’s but reared it’s head again in 1990 when a doctor, Andrew Wakefield, wanted to research to look into the relationship between bowel disease, autism, and the MMR vaccine. Since then, however, most of the claims that the anti-vaccination movement has made, such as their claim that vaccinations cause autism, have been debunked. This furthers my point that vaccination is a public issue not only because it relates to other people’s freedoms, but that we have no conclusive evidence that not vaccinating has any positive outcomes.
Vaccination is a public issue. It concerns the ability of one’s right to life, liberty, and happiness to be unnecessarily subjected to illnesses that can be easily prevented.
Sources:
Image from https://mic.com/articles/85725/7-biggest-lies-spread-by-the-anti-vaccine-movement-debunked-by-science#.uVrYi9NJghttp://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-anti-vaccination-movementshttp://www.voicesforvaccines.org/growing-up-unvaccinated/
http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-anti-vaccination-movements
http://www.voicesforvaccines.org/growing-up-unvaccinated/