Free to choose but liable for the consequences: should non-vaccinators be penalized for the harm they do?
Can parents who choose not to vaccinate their children be held legally liable for any harm that results? The state of laboratory and epidemiological understanding of a disease such as measles makes it likely that a persuasive causal link can be established between a decision to not vaccinate, a failure to take appropriate precautions to isolate a non-vaccinated child who may have been exposed to measles from highly vulnerable persons, and a death. This paper argues that, even if a parent chooses to not vaccinate a child under a state law permitting exemptions, that decision does not create complete protection against liability for the adverse consequences of that choice.
New York University Langone Medical Center.
Arthur L
AL
Caplan
David
D
Hoke
Nicholas J
NJ
Diamond
Viktoriya
V
Karshenboyem
D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003416:Criminal Law; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008297:Male; D032541:Mass Vaccination / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008457:Measles / Q000635:transmission; D022542:Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States
D022542:Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine