Linder Page 1

Abby Linder

Professor Loudermilk

ENG 1201

21, March 2019

Should There Be Legal Requirements for Vaccinating Your Children

Do you know what your states requirements are when it comes to having your

children vaccinated? Mandatory vaccinations have been an ongoing battle for decades.

Challenging state laws with religious and moral exemptions from vaccinations are

putting people all over the United States in danger. Out of all 50 states, only three do

not allow for religious and moral exemptions at this time. The only exemption that all

states share is a medical exemption. State laws need to be more strict pertaining to

mandatory vaccination exemption’s because the protection of the general population is

at risk to obtain a life threating infectious disease.

The only explanation anyone should have and be exempted from vaccinations is

because of a medical reason. The use of vaccinations to reduce life-threating infectious

disease has been among the greatest success stories in all of public health. (Gibson)

Herd immunity is something that everyone should be educated on. “Herd immunity,”

“indirect protection,” or “the herd effect” are all synonyms for a phenomenon that occurs

when a critical portion of the population is vaccinated against infection.” (Gibson) Many

people that do not believe in vaccinations today do not have a stern grip on the term

herd immunity. Vaccinations not only protect you and your children, but a society as a

whole. They believe that it is their child and they have the right to make that decision.
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Megan Gibson has her PhD in biology and works with the University of Louisville writes

in December of 2016 that the rise of non-vaccinated children is on the rise. Vaccinations

provide both a personal benefit to the individual receiving the vaccine, and also a

societal benefit through herd immunity, making vaccinations one of the most important

facets of both individual and public health. (Gibson) In studies done over the last ten

years, researchers and doctors have seen a rise in eradicated diseases such as

measles. Social Media has had a huge effect on why parents are being more resilient in

not vaccinating their children. The spread of false and uneducated information that has

been pushed throughout the internet has made parents make poor choices when it

comes to the topic of vaccinations. Children with immunity disadvantages are at a

higher risk to get sick and potentially die because they can’t fight off an infection as

easily as most children. (Linder) We saw this first hand with the measles outbreak in

2015 at Disneyland in California. Between 2014 and 2015 we saw the most cases of

measles since 2000. If this isn’t shining a light on the importance of vaccinations, I don’t

know what can.

Now that we have some background information on herd immunity, lets talk

about the needs for public health and civil liberties. The measles outbreak in California

in 2014 started an argument on public health. The areas of California that saw an

increase of the measles outbreak in 2014 and into 2015 where in areas with a noted

amount of nonvaccinated children. “A study by researchers at MIT, Boston Children’s

Hospital, and Harvard Medical School indicated that substandard vaccination rates

likely caused the rapid spread of the outbreak.” (Lobo) All U.S. states and United States

territories have laws in place for children to be vaccinated before entering school. Most
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states though have put in exemption rights other than medical reasons. More and more

parents have taken ahold of this and less children are being vaccinated. This shift is

making it easier for children to contact an illness that could be prevented by

vaccinations. In 1827, Boston became the first city to require schoolchildren to give

evidence of vaccinations before entering school. (Lobo) Shortly after this, other states

followed. This is the same time some people started fighting back. They fought back

with the same arguments people use today. They don’t work, they cause more harm

than good, and my child suffered some type of harm from them. These arguments still

happen today even with the crazy amount of scientific, medical background proof.

Vaccines help prevent communicable diseases, which make them just as important as

any other type of medicine we use today. Sometimes a reaction to the vaccines can

occur, most are small side effects such as fevers, soreness and itching in the spot of the

shot. (Linder) One of the first cases went to court in 1905. In Jacobson v.

Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a state’s right to compel mandatory

vaccination. (Lobo) In this case smallpox had an outbreak and the state made it

mandatory for everyone to be vaccinated. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the

Supreme Judicial Court’s decision and rejected Jacobson’s various arguments. (Lobo)

Along with this court case, the government did make certain limitations on the police

power to mandate vaccinations. (Lobo) First, mandates needed to address a public

health necessity. Second, the means needed to be reasonable and proportional. Lastly,

mandates needed to avoid harm. In other words, a vaccine mandate could not be

arbitrary, unreasonable, or far beyond what is reasonably required to ensure the public

health and safety. The Court left the manner of implementation to the discretion of the
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states. (Lobo) This is important because it was the start of how the states started to be

laxed in the term mandatory.

Even though we have fought for along time to enforce these laws, we still have

people that feel violated because of religious and moral beliefs. After much research on

the topic of religion and vaccinations, “no major religion prohibits vaccination, and

indeed some even recommend it.” (Lobo) 47 states allow religious exemptions and they

all vary on how they go about it. States that are stricter have less than 1% of children in

school not vaccinated. Other states with more laxed rules are higher. (Lobo) The moral

or personal beliefs are supported by 18 states as of 2016. (lobo) This is giving parents

even more areas to get around not vaccinating their children. It seems that these states

would rather not have a fight on their hands than to uphold the law. This is a scary

thought when we talk about herd immunity. As a parent of a child with a suppressed

immune system from having cancer, its even scarier. “Although the U.S. Supreme Court

has never explicitly ruled on exemptions to mandatory vaccinations, scholars generally

support the proposition that religious and philosophical exemptions are matters of

legislative grace and are not required by the Constitution.” (Lobo) After the crisis of the

measles outbreak in 2014, many other states have been changing their laws when it

comes to mandatory vaccinations. Most are still keeping the religious exemptions, but a
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lot are moving to remove the

moral exemptions. This is a slow

but better start in protecting the

civil liberties and public safety of

our children.

As we continue to disagree

on the safety of vaccinations, we

have to look at both sides. Why

are parents so afraid of

vaccinations? Most parents will

argue about the ingredients in the

vaccinations and how it does

more harm to their healthy

children. Studies at one point

showed that some of the

ingredients was leading to autism

and diabetes. Over years of

research all of these claims have

been proven untrue. Parents even

still ague about ingredients that

were used in some of the first

ever vaccines. “For a small but

persistent number of parents and

advocates, however, the wisdom of inoculating children against certain common

childhood diseases remains suspect. According to these critics, vaccines may cause

serious side effects or even prove fatal. Some believe that simultaneously giving a child

multiple vaccinations for different diseases can overtax an immature immune system

and produce lasting damage.” (Griswold) Anti-vaccinations movement have even gone

to the point that they can kill children because of side effects. One thing that they do not

take into consideration is that their child can have an allergic reaction to any substance

they put in their body. Does that mean that because your child is allergic to one

antibiotic that they can’t have another kind? “Dr. Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of

Philadelphia told CNN in 2002, "We know if we immunize a million people, that there will

be 15 people [0.015 percent--ed.] that will suffer severe, permanent adverse outcomes

and one person who may die from the vaccine." (Griswold) If you look at any other

medication that you put into your body, side effects most of the time are even higher

than this. This is a chance you take to help protect your child and the rest of society. It is

even more mind-blowing that people do not believe proven scientific evidence when it

comes to the safety and side effects of vaccinations.

How far will the federal government go to protect the health and safety of the

general population? We have seen that each state can kind of make its own regulations

on how it handles vaccinations. Most all court cases that have involved mandatory

vaccinations have held up to make people follow through with the laws of vaccinations

of said states. The government has put into place certain laws to help protect the health

of the Untied States over all in emergencies. “Many states also have laws providing for

mandatory vaccinations during a public health emergency or outbreak of a

communicable disease. Generally, the power to order such actions rests with the

governor of the state or with a state health officer.” (Swendiman) I am glad to know that

if we have a state emergency that the government has steps in place. I would much

rather everyone take the steps for outbreaks for this not to happen or cut down the

possibilities of them happening before we have to go through any state emergencies.

The states also have steps to take if a person refuses a vaccination and there is a

public safety issue that may cause danger. “If a person refuses to be vaccinated, he or

she may be quarantined during the public health emergency giving rise to the

vaccination order.” (Swendiman) These are all great steps to take to make sure that the

health and safety of the people are taken care of.

In conclusion to understanding the laws in each state and that they do differ, the

importance is knowing that vaccinations work. They help keep eradicated diseases at

bay and protect the safety of the public. The government is not trying to take over your

life or harm you. Vaccinations have side effects, along with many other things that you

and your family come in contact with on the daily. Vaccinations have been modified and

have shown with credible research that they work and have knocked out many life

threating diseases over the many decades. Individual states need to make sure that

they are not intimated by someone trying to push buttons about vaccination laws.

Standing by the endless amounts of research and statics push for more stricter laws

when it comes to vaccinations to protect herd immunity.

Works Cited
 Linder Page 8

“EDITORIAL: Get the Shots, Protect All.” Columbian, The (Vancouver, WA), 12 May

2017. EBSCOhost,

sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&d

b=nfh&AN=2W62503007877&site=eds-live.

Gibson, Megan. “Competing Concerns: Can Religious Exemptions to Mandatory Childhood

Vaccinations and Public Health Successfully Coexist?” University of Louisville Law

Review, no. 3, 2016, p. 527. EBSCOhost,

sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&d

b=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.462828743&site=eds-live. “EDITORIAL: Get the Shots, Protect

All.” Columbian, The (Vancouver, WA), 12 May 2017. EBSCOhost,

sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&d

b=nfh&AN=2W62503007877&site=eds-live.

Gibson, Megan. “Competing Concerns: Can Religious Exemptions to Mandatory Childhood

Vaccinations and Public Health Successfully Coexist?” University of Louisville Law

Review, no. 3, 2016, p. 527. EBSCOhost,

sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&d

b=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.462828743&site=eds-live.

Grant, Duane. Personal interview. 28 February 2019.

Law and Legal Issues in the United States : Analyses and Developments. Nova Science

Publishers, Inc, 2015. EBSCOhost,

sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&d

b=nlebk&AN=956107&site=ehost-live.
 Linder Page 9

Lee, Carol H. J., et al. “Personality and Demographic Correlates of New Zealanders’ Confidence

in the Safety of Childhood Vaccinations.” Vaccine, no. 45, 2017, p. 6089. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.09.061.

Linder, Abby R. “Should Childhood Vaccinations Be Mandatory.” 2 Nov. 2018.

LOBO, JAMES. “Vindicating the Vaccine: Injecting Strength into Mandatory School

Vaccination Requirements to Safeguard the Public Health.” Boston College Law Review,

vol. 57, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 261–296. EBSCOhost,

sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&d

b=i3h&AN=113798745&site=eds-live.

Najera, Rene F. “Vaccination Exemptions.” History of Vaccines, 17 Jan. 2018,

www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/vaccination-exemptions.

Novella, Steven. “Personal Belief Exemptions for Vaccines.” Science-Based Medicine, 14 Mar.

2015, sciencebasedmedicine.org/personal-belief-exemptions-for-vaccines/

Pemperton, Sonya, director. Vaccines: Calling the Shots. Top Documentary Films, Nova, 23

June 2015, topdocumentaryfilms.com/vaccines-calling-shots/.

Song, Geoboo, et al. “Cultural Worldview and Preference for Childhood Vaccination

Policy.” Policy Studies Journal, vol. 42, no. 4, Nov. 2014, pp. 528–554. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1111/psj.12076.

Law and Legal Issues in the United States : Analyses and Developments. Nova Science

Publishers, Inc, 2015. EBSCOhost,

sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&d

b=nlebk&AN=956107&site=ehost-live.

Lee, Carol H. J., et al. “Personality and Demographic Correlates of New Zealanders’ Confidence

in the Safety of Childhood Vaccinations.” Vaccine, no. 45, 2017, p. 6089. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.09.061.

LOBO, JAMES. “Vindicating the Vaccine: Injecting Strength into Mandatory School

Vaccination Requirements to Safeguard the Public Health.” Boston College Law Review,

vol. 57, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 261–296. EBSCOhost,

sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&d

b=i3h&AN=113798745&site=eds-live.

Najera, Rene F. “Vaccination Exemptions.” History of Vaccines, 17 Jan. 2018,

www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/vaccination-exemptions.

Novella, Steven. “Personal Belief Exemptions for Vaccines.” Science-Based Medicine, 14 Mar.

2015, sciencebasedmedicine.org/personal-belief-exemptions-for-vaccines/

Pemperton, Sonya, director. Vaccines: Calling the Shots. Top Documentary Films, Nova, 23

June 2015, topdocumentaryfilms.com/vaccines-calling-shots/.

Song, Geoboo, et al. “Cultural Worldview and Preference for Childhood Vaccination

Policy.” Policy Studies Journal, vol. 42, no. 4, Nov. 2014, pp. 528–554. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1111/psj.12076.