Colm Fitzpatrick
Parents are morally obliged to vaccinate their children, writes Colm Fitzpatrick
With the recent spate of measles outbreaks across Ireland, questions have been raised about what role both parents and government play in preventing the spread of infectious illnesses.
Vaccinations, of course, seem to be the obvious solution as they provide immunity to the targeted diseases – but with a growing scepticism about the effectiveness of vaccines, many parents are avoiding this medical norm and opting for their children to contract the disease and develop resistance naturally.
There have been well over 20 confirmed measles cases in the Dublin area since the beginning of this year, with other fringe outbreaks in areas such as Donegal. The best protection against it is to be vaccinated with MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccine, but with a greater drop in people receiving this vaccine in the past few years, the illness is remerging on a wide-scale level.
Despite an overwhelming scientific consensus that deems such vaccines to be safe, many parents no longer have confidence in them, believing they do more harm than good. A new survey carried out by biomedical research charity Wellcome revealed that Ireland’s trust of medical vaccines is lower than the international average, sitting at a mere 74%.
Positive effects
Given that the positive effects of vaccines are well-attested, is it the case that parents are morally obliged to vaccinate their children?
According to moral theologian Fr Alan O’Sullivan OP, parents ought to vaccinate their children if refusal to do so could lead to grave illness or death.
“If there’s a danger of a child contracting a grave illness and there’s vaccination readily available that’s affordable without controversial side effects, then there is an onus on parents to avail of that,” he told The Irish Catholic, adding that this moral duty can shift depending on the seriousness of the disease.
Likewise, Fr Michael Shorthall, secretary of the Irish bishops’ Consultative Group on Bioethics and Life Questions agrees that parents have a moral obligation to take health seriously and that this responsibility “rises” the greater the seriousness of the illness that’s being vaccinated.
There’s no problem with the State advising people as long as its accurate with regards to possible side effects, and any negative aspects”
“In Catholic teaching, there is a concept called the common good and one aspect of the common good is public health. So, parents by vaccinating their children, they’re not just protecting their children – making choices about their children – but they’re making choices, in effect, about their community and they relate to the community,” Fr Shorthall said.
The Church is quite clear that this decision is a personal matter for parents – this doesn’t mean ignoring evidence to suit one’s narrative or confirmation biases, but developing a properly informed conscience. There must be comprehensive reasons for refusing immunisations to dangerous diseases, and if all that can be mustered up is an esoteric and uncredited study, then questions need to be asked.
There is of course a legitimate concern among Christians about the use of vaccines developed from cell lines descending from aborted foetal tissue, such as the vaccine against Rubella. Catholics have rightly asked whether it’s morally permissible to use such vaccines, but a statement from the Pontifical Academy for Life in 2005 has confirmed that vaccines connected with abortion are licit to use, at least until a new product becomes available.
While the question of what moral duty parents have in providing vaccines for their children is worth considering, a more pressing matter is the role of the State in enforcing this medical procedure. There’s no doubt that the government has a responsibility in reducing the spread of diseases, but there have now been calls to introduce mandatory vaccinations, especially given the devastation these infectious illnesses can cause schools.
The Department of Health told this newspaper: “The Minister’s [Simon Harris] priority is to increase vaccination rates across the country and he is exploring a number of options in this area. In this regard, the Minister wrote to the Attorney General to seek legal advice as to the Constitutionality of introducing schemes of mandatory vaccination.”
Minimum
At a very minimum, the government has a duty to inform and provide accurate information to its citizens about the positive effects of vaccines, and ensure that such services are available to everybody.
“There’s no problem with the State advising people as long as its accurate with regards to possible side effects, and any negative aspects. That’s straight-forward enough,” DCU lecturer and theologian Dr John Murray explained, adding that both Church and State should “give information and good advice, and make sure that things are readily available that are necessary for basic health and wellbeing”.
However, when a person refuses to provide a vaccine for their child, should the government move beyond this advisory paradigm and enforce the medical procedure regardless of the parent’s objections? The answer isn’t clear-cut, primarily because there are different views on the role of government in society, and also what constitutes a serious illness.
“I think that would be the State overstepping the mark actually. You’ve got to be careful of what’s called today the ‘granny State’ or the ‘parent State’ which tries to substitute at the times the role of parent,” Fr O’Sullivan said, adding, “The parents have the major cooperative role in raising the child, and the State only intervenes in extraordinary circumstances. It doesn’t become the ordinary educator of facilitator.”
Fr Shorthall, on the other hand, holds that the State does have the right to enforce vaccinations if the illness is serious enough, and in more minor circumstances, it must simply educate and inform parents, leaving the choice down to them as are they primary carers of their children.
There are certainly strong arguments on both sides and as this topic enters the public arena in the coming months, perhaps a better understanding of parental and governmental roles will be reached.