Medical Responsibilities for Parents

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Parents have the moral responsibility and duty to give their children vaccines. Unvaccinated children can spread diseases very quickly. This is more prevalent in third world countries, than first-world, but there is always some risk in all countries. Vaccinations can help prevent Tetanus, Measles, Mumps, Hepatitis A, and Hepatitis B, and several more diseases. A poll conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014) states that there were 3,374 Hepatitis B cases reported and 588 died in 2010. The numbers were very similar for the previous three years. Although Varicella has decreased significantly in the past thirty years, there were still over 10,000 cases reported in 2014 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014). People need to only look back to the early 1900’s when vaccines were not very common to see the devastating effects of not having vaccines had on people. Thousands and thousands of people died in the early 1900’s from diseases that are now preventable with vaccinations. If everyone stopped getting vaccinations, the epidemic of the 1900’s may arise again. Kant (1998) says that people must act in such a way that a maxim could become a universal law. This is also known as a categorical imperative. Requiring vaccinations for everyone could become a universal law; thus preventing the spread of diseases. The purpose of the maxim is to benefit the greatest number of people. It would also lead to making the overall population of the world healthier and preventing wide spread diseases. It is a parent’s responsibility to get their child vaccinated because if the child is not vaccinated it could result in hurting others in the process. Even if it does not hurt others, any child without vaccines has a higher risk of becoming sick or getting a serious illness or disease. All of this could lead to the death of a healthy child and possibly others, when it could and should have been prevented. As a parent, getting your child vaccinated would be morally correct because it embodies a maxim that could be accepted into a universal law. This is a parent’s responsibility and duty to vaccinate their children. Parents fail their moral duty if they do not get their child vaccinated; of course, this does not take into consideration that one might not get their children vaccinated due to religious reasons. Decisions based on religious beliefs are considered a higher priority then vaccinating one’s children.

There are lots of counterarguments against parents being morally responsible for making medical decisions for their children. The medical choices made by parents based on religion is a grave concern to many people. This is a very valid concern, but it is a right of parents in the United States because of freedom of religion. If freedom of religion were not a right in the United States, then this would not be morally permissible. The parents believe that they are doing what is best in their eyes for their child. Some people refuse vaccinations because of their fear of autism. Research has shown that this is completely false. Vaccines do not cause autism. Some people refuse to vaccinate their children because of the possible side effects and allergic reaction to the vaccine. Although, reactions do occur they are very rare. The benefits of receiving a vaccine; not getting a disease or spreading a disease, far outweigh the negatives. Generally, all side effects and allergic reactions from a vaccine are treatable and curable. Most all diseases acquired from lack of vaccinations are incurable, although some are treatable to maximize life span.

There are pros and cons to every situation in which people must decide medical decisions for others, especially parents for their children. However, some situations would be considered morally correct while others might be morally incorrect. Parents have the moral duty and responsibility to choose what they consider to be the correct moral decision. Parents making medical decisions for their children is important because it is their personal decision. They, as parents, know what is best for their children. It is a parent’s duty to make medical decisions keeping their child’s best interest in mind concerning religion, life-death situations, and vaccines.

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References

Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Edited by Mary J. Gregor. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Munson, Ronald. Intervention and Reflection: Basic Issues in Bioethics. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012.

Rachels, James. The Elements of Moral Philosophy. Edited by Stuart Rachels. 6th ed. Mcgraw Hill, 2010.

"Reported Cases and Deaths from Vaccine Preventable Diseases." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. September 2014. Accessed November 26, 2016. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/e/reported-cases.