Should the government – local, State or federal, have the power to force anyone to be vaccinated against highly infectious diseases? Good question.
There has been a recent outbreak of the measles in New York. Local affiliate WABC reports that just since October 2018, there have been 214 confirmed cases in Brooklyn and Queens and another 153 in Rockland County.
And because of this, Rockland County has declared a State of Emergency. Rockland County Executive Ed Day announced that non-vaccinated minors are now barred from public places.
AS of Thursday, March 28, 2019, “anyone who is under 18 years of age and is not vaccinated against the measles is prohibited from public places until the declaration expires in 30 days or until they receive the MMR vaccination.”
MMR stands for the combination vaccine for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (German Measles).
Although there have been many scares about the dangers of this vaccine, the facts are that the adverse effects to the vaccine are considered rare to very rare. In other words, it’s not without risk, but the risks are demonstrably small – much smaller than not being vaccinated. But what in life is completely void of risk.
And as an aside, there is zero actual science behind the claim linking the MMR vaccine to autism.
But again, should the government, local, State or federal, have the power to force anyone to be vaccinated against highly infectious diseases?
As a freedom and liberty loving, small government constitutionalist, one would naturally think I would be against such mandates. And you’d be right.
In cases like this, I always defer to Thomas Jefferson’s rule of liberty. “If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, what difference is it to me.”
In other words, if your diseased child doesn’t negatively affect me or my family, it isn’t my problem.
The science is all there. Any parent can research the safety and warnings of vaccines and make an educated decision to vaccinate their children and themselves, or not. My children and I are immunized against MMR, so it won’t affect us. This may seem rather selfish, but that’s the price of freedom, and your stupidity shall not trump my liberty.
The decision should be left to the people who are ultimately responsible for the children. In case you don’t know, that would the parent(s). And the children are who the State is really concerned with.
However, in our modern day, enlightened, it takes a village society, government Nannies can’t stand that our liberty should trump the “public” safety.
Coming on the heels of the Brooklyn and Rockland outbreaks, a family suffered an armed incursion in Arizona. Just a few days ago, in the dead of night, a police SWAT team stormed the house under the direction of the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS).
Evidently, a mother took her sick child to the doctor, after the 2-year-old child had registered a fever above 100. “The doctor told her to take him to the emergency room, fearing that because the boy was unvaccinated, perhaps he had meningitis, a life-threatening disease.”
The doctor then called the hospital and told them to expect the child. The mother took the child home. He started to feel better and his fever was going down. All looked well. The mother even took the time to call the doctor with the good news, but he was not satisfied, still insisting that she take her kid to the emergency room.
The mother had the nerve to think it was her decision to make for her own child. Silly mother. Of course not. You’re only the parent. The doctor called the DCS, who then called the police.
DCS proceeded to obtain a temporary child custody order for not just the “sick” child, who was no longer sick, but her other two children. The police then raided the house, guns a blazing, snatched the kids and left. The mother was powerless to do anything.
It’s astounding how quickly the government can move to “get things done” when they really want something – like our children.
Lest you forgot, this was not in North Korea, but Arizona.
So I guess now children in New York must apparently have their “papers” with them all time and all parenting decisions in Arizona must defer to the State.
America – Home of the Free. Right.
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