[NVIC] Spinning Ethics of Forced Vaccination

[Guest guest]

National Vaccine Information Center Newsletter

e-NEWS " Individuals have a duty to prevent harm to others in the population, "

said Diekema. " Vaccination programs exist to reduce harm to those within the

population. So, those who refuse vaccination may put others at risk of harm. " -

Pediatrician Douglas Diekema, M.D., MPH

BL Fisher Note:

It is both amusing and pathetic when M.D./MPH vaccinologists gather together

to massage each other's egos and publicly confirm myths about parental attitudes

toward vaccination that they, themselves, have created. Whether these self

appointed parental attitude experts are engaged in group fantasy or are simply

spinning for the benefit of the media, they march in lock-step on the subject of

forced vaccination. Apparently that was the way it was at a " pediatric

bioethics " conference held at Seattle Children's Hospital July 14-15, 2006.

Not wanting to admit that college educated parents reject vaccines after

examining the poor science offered as proof vaccines are safe, the M.D./MPH

vaccinologists prefer to characterize questioning parents as selfish and holding

distorted values. Rather than answering an educated parent's legitimate

questions, they wave the utilitarian " greater good " flag to deflect public

attention from the more substantive scientific issues.

As the Nuremberg Tribunal so effectively discussed at the Doctor's Trial at

Nuremberg after World War II, the utilitarian rationale for forced medical

interventions is fundamentally ethically corrupt. Utilitarianism, which suggests

that the state can force a minority to sacrifice their well being for the

majority, cannot be ethically used by doctors or scientists to force medical

interventions which can injure or kill or individuals without their informed

consent. In the case of one-size-fits-all forced vaccination policies, the

parents of children, who are genetically vulnerable to vaccine induced injury

and death, are being forced to kill or injure their children without their

informed consent.

The forced vaccination stance taken by M.D./MPH " experts " reveals exactly why

educated parents do not trust them. Why would a parent entrust their child's

life to a medical doctor who does not care if their child is killed or crippled

by a vaccine but only cares if the child gets vaccinated in order to " protect "

the State?

The right to informed consent to any medical intervention which carries a risk

of injury or death, including vaccination, is a human right. Perhaps the MD/MPH

experts who want to violate the human rights of parents should actually speak

with, rather than publicly gossip about, those parents refusing to offer up

their children as sacrificial lambs on the alter of one-size-fits-all vaccine

policies.

 

International Conference Debates Vaccination Hesitancy and

Parental Refusal

Experts in the Field Discuss the Successes and Challenges of Childhood

Vaccinations

 

Saturday July 15, 8:39 pm ET

SEATTLE, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric

Bioethics at Seattle Children's Hospital, the nation's first center dedicated

solely to the study of research and health care for children, concluded its

second annual conference on Saturday, July 15, 2006 in Seattle.

Highlights:

 

-- Stephen L. Cochi, MD, MPH, National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease

Control, discussed the opportunities and challenges facing childhood

vaccinations. Vaccines are one of the most important tools we have to protect

the health of our nation's most vulnerable citizens, our children, said Cochi.

In 1985 the number of vaccines in the routine childhood immunization schedule

was 7; in 2006 that number reached 16. Vaccines are protecting more children

against more diseases than ever before in history, said Cochi.

In spite of the success, physicians face several substantial challenges in

providing vaccinations, including maintaining a steady supply of vaccines and

addressing unfounded fears about vaccine safety. If we hope to prevent disease

and reduce morbidity from vaccine preventable diseases, we must achieve and

maintain public confidence in vaccines, said Cochi. In order to maintain vaccine

supplies, stockpiles of vaccines need to be expanded, support for regulatory

agencies must be increased and streamlined, and national campaigns should be

implemented to emphasize the value of vaccines.

-- Edgar K. Marcuse, MD, MPH, associate medical director at Children's

Hospital and Regional Medical Center and professor of pediatrics at the

University of Washington, spoke to the conference attendees about the origins of

immunization hesitancy. " The majority of parents understand the benefits of

immunizations and support existing policies, but many parents have important

misconceptions that could erode their confidence in immunizations. " Concern for

safety is, by far, the most significant reason parents give for refusing

vaccines for their children. Compared to parents who vaccinate their children,

those who refuse tend to be older, better educated and of similar income and

race.

Dr. Marcuse pointed to the dilemma pediatricians face from parents concerned

about an association between thimerosal and autism. While the evidence has

overwhelmingly concluded that there is no association between thimerosal and

autism, " most parents have no clear idea how to evaluate the credibility of the

source of immunization information. The media value news over scientific

'truth,' controversy over education, regard balance as evidence of journalistic

integrity, and equate one expert with another. "

-- Douglas S. Diekema, MD, MPH, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics,

Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, and associate professor of

pediatrics at the University of Washington, presented the case for vaccine

refusal: parent conviction, child best-interest and community good. Dr. Diekema

posed the questions about parental duty to vaccinate their children and when is

it justifiable to restrict individual freedom. Dr. Diekema argued that one

circumstance that justifies that action would be when the action or decision

places another individual at substantial risk of serious harm. But that is only

the case if no less restrictive alternative exists that would be equally

effective at preventing the harm.

" Individuals have a duty to prevent harm to others in the population, " said

Diekema. " Vaccination programs exist to reduce harm to those within the

population. So, those who refuse vaccination may put others at risk of harm. "

Parents have several reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Dr. Diekema suggests that

the physician's obligation is to obtain parental consent to vaccinate and work

respectfully with the family and physicians should not fire families who refuse

to vaccinate, but instead continue dialogue with the family. Showing respect for

parental concerns is the best way to break through barriers. Parents need a

clear understanding of what is at stake, Diekema concluded.

 

" This is the core fundamental to protecting kids, " said Diekema. " There is

nothing we can do to protect them more than vaccinations. "

-- Joel Frader, MD, MA, Medical Humanities and Bioethics, Northwestern

University spoke about the physician's response to parents who refuse to

vaccinate their children. In a random survey of 1004 American Academy of

Pediatrics members, 39% of physicians said they would dismiss or fire a patient

family if they refused all vaccinations, said Frader.

" Physicians who refuse to do these things are undermining the trust in their

profession and do not advance the health and welfare of children, " said Frader.

" They will ultimately drive children to care by less qualified individuals. "

-- Lainie Friedman Ross. MD. PhD, University of Chicago, MacLean Center for

Clinical Medical Ethics, discussed the limits of requiring vaccines for children

- public health versus individual autonomy. There are three universal vaccine

exemptions: medical, religious and philosophical.

" In balancing public health and individual freedom, the state has an

obligation to ensure that all nonexempt children are fully immunized " , said

Ross. " State intervention becomes justifiable in times of epidemics when

non-immunization poses risks to the public. "

For more information on the conference, or to view the conference Webcast,

visit http://www.s eattlechildrens.org

The Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children's

Hospital, the nation's first center dedicated solely to the study of research

and health care for children, hosted its second annual conference on July 14 -

15, 2006 in Seattle. The conference featured national experts leading

discussions on vaccine policy, availability and research. Conference

participants offered viewpoints on issues ranging from a parent's right not to

immunize their child to a physician's right to " fire " a non-immunized patient.

 

Childhood vaccinations against a multitude of infectious agents have been hailed

as one of the most important health interventions of the 20th century.

Vaccinations have eradicated smallpox infection worldwide and polio in North

America. Pediatric immunizations are responsible for preventing millions of

childhood deaths each year. Despite this success, some parts of the world have

not benefited as much from vaccine development and delivery. Even in the United

States, where most children have access to effective vaccines, some parents are

reluctant to vaccinate their children.

 

Media Contact:

Amy MacIver

Media Relations Specialist

amy.maciver

(206) 987-5210

(206) 469-3745 (pager)

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NVIC is funded through the financial support of its members and does not receive

any government subsidies. Barbara Loe Fisher, President and Co- founder.

 

Learn more about vaccines, diseases and how to protect your informed consent

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