Will it be liberty or education?
By Amy Schenck
The Anchorage School District announced last week that the state of Alaska is requiring all kindergarten and elementary students to get not one, but two doses, of the varicella vaccination, commonly referred to as the chickenpox vaccination.
Such a requirement is fundamentally flawed.
Liberty in its very definition includes the right to make our own choices about healthcare - for ourselves and our children.
The government’s job is to protect this right, not violate it.
The chickenpox vaccination, like other vaccinations, can be quite beneficial, and many are already choosing on their own - without the strong arm of the state - to get this preventive treatment.
But deciding to forgo a chickenpox vaccination is far from negligent. Chickenpox generally has little repercussions other than to cause a period of irritation and discomfort. True, for some chickenpox can be severe and life threatening, but so are many things in life.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 41,059 people in the United States died in 2007 from a motor vehicle-related incident.
Compare that to the few dozen people who die each year from chickenpox in the United States, and we should expect the state to ban school buses instead of requiring vaccines.
In December Providence Alaska Medical Center tried a similar antic, requiring all employees to choose either a flu shot or termination.
After some employees loudly protested and the nurse’s union filed a grievance, Alaska’s largest hospital rescinded the requirement.
Those who opposed the requirement made several valid points, but the most basic one was this: it’s each individuals right to decide if they want something foreign put into their body.
So what happens if students show up to school without a vaccine? Are they denied an education?
Yes, is the short answer. Exemptions are given to those who have medical or religious reasons for not getting the vaccination, as well as to students who can medically prove they’ve already had chickenpox.
In so many ways the state is basically saying we have to choose between two of our rights as Americans: the right to liberty or the right to education.
If society has already arrived to this point, what’s next?
And more importantly, how long will we stand aside and let the government be the puppeteer rather than the puppet?
The Anchorage School District announced last week that the state of Alaska is requiring all kindergarten and elementary students to get not one, but two doses, of the varicella vaccination, commonly referred to as the chickenpox vaccination.
Such a requirement is fundamentally flawed.
Liberty in its very definition includes the right to make our own choices about healthcare - for ourselves and our children.
The government’s job is to protect this right, not violate it.
The chickenpox vaccination, like other vaccinations, can be quite beneficial, and many are already choosing on their own - without the strong arm of the state - to get this preventive treatment.
But deciding to forgo a chickenpox vaccination is far from negligent. Chickenpox generally has little repercussions other than to cause a period of irritation and discomfort. True, for some chickenpox can be severe and life threatening, but so are many things in life.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 41,059 people in the United States died in 2007 from a motor vehicle-related incident.
Compare that to the few dozen people who die each year from chickenpox in the United States, and we should expect the state to ban school buses instead of requiring vaccines.
In December Providence Alaska Medical Center tried a similar antic, requiring all employees to choose either a flu shot or termination.
After some employees loudly protested and the nurse’s union filed a grievance, Alaska’s largest hospital rescinded the requirement.
Those who opposed the requirement made several valid points, but the most basic one was this: it’s each individuals right to decide if they want something foreign put into their body.
So what happens if students show up to school without a vaccine? Are they denied an education?
Yes, is the short answer. Exemptions are given to those who have medical or religious reasons for not getting the vaccination, as well as to students who can medically prove they’ve already had chickenpox.
In so many ways the state is basically saying we have to choose between two of our rights as Americans: the right to liberty or the right to education.
If society has already arrived to this point, what’s next?
And more importantly, how long will we stand aside and let the government be the puppeteer rather than the puppet?
Labels: Alaska Star, articles, Editorial, Opinion
posted by Amy | 11:29 PM
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