This presentation will discuss the legal issues being debated in many states over the expansion of both the number of mandatory childhood vaccinations, and the breadth of the exemptions available to parents who do not want their children to be vaccinated. It has been almost a century since the Supreme Court established that the state's right to protect the public health through compulsory vaccination policies supercedes an individual's right to refuse vaccination based on either philosophical or religious grounds. Over the past hundred years, every state has passed laws requiring that children be vaccinated prior to entrance into the public school system, and every state also has determined that certain exceptions to these vaccination laws are appropriate. A minority of states permit the parents to apply for exemption of their children based on non-religious, moral or philosophical grounds, and over the past two years, the legislatures of several other states have struggled over whether to add this exception to their childhood vaccination laws. Furthermore, as new vaccines are approved for public use, states face questions as to whether it is appropriate to make child vaccination determinations based on rules established under different public health conditions.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to: 1. Discuss the legal foundations of U.S. childhood vaccination policy; 2. Describe current legislative and administrative actions concerning mandatory vaccination, including expansion of moral exemptions to childhood immunization; 3. Analyze legal issues in the current debate over expanding the scope of mandatory childhood immunizations.
Keywords: Health Law, Immunizations
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None.
Disclosure not received
Relationship: Not Received.