Professional Documents
Culture Documents
vaccine will only help reduce the symptoms of the illness, as in the case of the
neighborhood boy in the paragraph
above. Though he felt miserable, his
symptoms were milder than had he not
been vaccinated.
Parental Rights
The oppression of religious freedom
or personal beliefs is not new or exclusive to any one particular culture or
faith. History has shown just how atrocious man can treat his fellow man. After WW II, in 1948 the United Nations
adopted the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. The Declaration contains
a Preamble and 30 Articles or statements of each persons rights as a human being. Article 18 states: Everyone
has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief,
and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private,
to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Clearly, everyone has the right to live
their religion and practice it as they see
fit. This includes making decisions regarding health and well-being.
Education is the key to finding balance between public safety and maintaining personal and religious freedom.
Education about how quickly a disease
can spread among those who are not
vaccinated, education about the timing
of vaccines, education about what ingredients are contained therein. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and The History of Vaccines are two
examples of websites that have educational pages with interactive demonstrations to help educate parents and the
public. Doctors are always happy to field
questions and concerns of parents. Parents in consultation with their doctor
should be the ones making the personal
decisions about a childs health, not a
bureaucratic government agency.