Protect Our Children: Vaccination Exemptions Can Establish Child Abuse and Neglect

• Date: 01 April 2019
• Published date: 01 April 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12412
• Author: Kathleen Ramirez

PROTECT OUR CHILDREN: VACCINATION EXEMPTIONS CAN

ESTABLISH CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

Kathleen Ramirez

The need to protect public health has increased as the anti-vaccine movement is on the rise. Exemptions to vaccination

requirements have become more lax, and parents find ways to avoid vaccinating their children, thereby exposing not only

their children to the dangers of serious diseases, but other children as well. This Note proposes a federal statute mandating

that parents subject their children between the ages of infancy and 6 to acquire vaccinations for all diseases recommended

by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unless a licensed physician recommends otherwise.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:

All 50 states throughout the United States permit medical exemptions to vaccine requirements.

California, Mississippi, and West Virginia are the only states that do not permit religious exemptions with respect to

vaccinating one’schild.

Currently, 18 states allow vaccine exemptionsfor philosophical reasons.

There is no federal statute mandating any specified vaccination for children.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented that within the last 20 years, vaccination has pre-

vented 734,000 deaths and 322 million illnesses among children.

Keywords: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Child Abuse; Children’s Rights; Exemption; Health Law;

Mandatory Vaccine;Religion; and Vaccine.

I. INTRODUCTION

Kate

1

and Christopher

2

are a happily married couple with three children.

3

Their middle child, Liam,

4

came home from school one afternoon exhibiting signs of a common cold.

5

Kate gave Liam over-the-

counter cold medication, hoping he would get better.

6

The following day, Liam experienced flu-like symp-

toms, such as a cough and a runny nose.

7

Kate’s concerns heightened on the third day of symptoms when

she noticed Liam’s fever skyrocketed to an alarming 103 degrees.

8

Liam also exhibited a rash covering his

body.

9

Convinced this was not an ordinary cold, Kate decided to take Liam to the emergency room.

10

Upon examination, the doctor informed Kate that Liam had unfortunately contracted measles.

11

Kate was confused about how this could have happened because Liam had been vaccinated for the

measles.

12

The doctor proceeded to inform Kate that children who are fully vaccinated are some-

times unable to produce permanent immune responses to the virus.

13

The doctor also explained to

Kate that the virus was highly contagious, especially for children who had not been vaccinated.

14

Kate immediately panicked, as her youngest child was not yet vaccinated.

15

As for Liam, there is no prescribed treatment for measles.

16

Doctors can simply recommend

acetaminophen to relieve high fevers and muscle aches.

17

Luckily, the measles virus has a low mor-

tality rate in healthy children.

18

Also, once a person has contracted the virus, he or she is immune

from it for life.

19

Although that result may sound beneficial, Liam’s contraction of measles could

have been avoided had he not come into contact with an unvaccinated child.

20

California recently reported an outbreak of the measles,

21

a nearly eradicated disease. Its resurfa-

cing put people in danger.

22

In December 2015, an outbreak of 59 cases

of the measles was linked to Disneyland in California.

23

The outbreak included Disneyland

employees, as well as visitors.

24

Although the virus was considered eliminated, there was also an

Corresponding: kathleen431@gmail.com

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 57 No. 2, April 2019 258–272

© 2019 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts