What do you think of mothers who choose not to get their children vaccinated?

I just figure I had them when I was a child and I am just fine! I’ve never had any life threatening illnesses, so they must have been good in some way! More parents should look at it that way!

Hopefully me vaccinating my daughter will prevent her from catching anything that may be passed on by a child who hasn’t been vaccinated!

I think immunizations for the top childhood killers of history should be mandatory and CPS should get involved with those who fail to do it. Childhood immunization has eradicated highly deadly/dibilitating diseases like polio and smallpox.

Lower risk diseases, like chickenpox, should be optional.

Okay, as a person who has, in all her fourteen years, NEVER had a vaccination, I have to say that everyone have free rights. I personally think they do absolutely nothing for the person they are given to. I have never got extremely sick, even after being exposed to quite a few of the popular diseases. All I have ever had was chickenpox, and with a good oatmeal bath they healed quickly.

I really have nothing against vaccinations, I just think they do more hurt rather than good.

Who knows.

I agree with filletofspam really- parents who don’t do it are misguided, but ultimately it’s their choice. However, I wouldn’t give them much sympathy if, through their ‘choice’ not to vaccinate, they had to watch their child die from a preventable illness. That’s not to mention the guilt they might endure if their child passes on that illness to other children, causing more fatalities.

I think they’re irresponsible, both towards their children and society at large. Vaccination effectiveness depends on “herd immunity”, and by not vaccinating their children, they’re not just putting their own children at risk, but they’re also increasing the risk of infection many other children face - including those that are vaccinated but are not resistant.

There’s a documentary coming out soon called “the final inch”, about the people on the front-lines vaccinating children against polio in India. The trailer is extremely touching, and somewhat revealing of peoples’ attitudes and fears.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/final-inch.html

Different people avoid vaccinating their children for different reasons.

For some it is religious.

Some believe there is a link between childhood vaccinations and problems like autism, allergies, and auto-immune diseases.

I don’t think that anyone should be forced to undergo specific medical treatment in a free society. I think it is a mistake not to vaccinate and I think the parents who don’t are misguided but I still think it is their choice.

filletofspam: You say you don’t think anyone should be forced to undergo medical treatment in a free society, but how would you handle a case like “Typhoid Mary”? Someone who was a carrier of a deadly disease, who refuses to get treatment, and continues to spread the disease to others?

Sometimes the rights of a society outweigh those of an individual - specifically, when the acts of that individual can negatively impact others around them.

Oh no.

That is horrible. Just imagine smallpox breaking out again

And btw, toadaly, chickenpox is basically smallpox. except that it is induced by the vaccine and is mild compared to smallpox