Tags
There are several petitions on vaccinations at the White House site:
We petition the Obama Administration to:
Mandate childhood vaccinations for all children, with exemptions solely for legitimate medical reasons.Medical exemptions should be the only childhood vaccination exemption allowed in the United States.
The medical profession has spoken, childhood vaccinations are safe and one of the greatest scientific innovations in human history.
Some parents fall victim to rumor and propaganda and decide to place other children’s lives at risk by refusing to vaccinate their children. These decisions are based on discredited research or biased opinions. This affects other children – not just the children of the parents making this decision. Given the recent Measles outbreak in California, a state with one of the highest % of unvaccinated children, along with outbreaks of other diseases in clusters of unvaccinated communities, the government must act now before this becomes a public health crisis.
Published Date: Jan 31, 2015
Issues: Health Care, Science and Space PolicySignatures needed by March 02, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 99,532
Total signatures on this petition 468
[emphasis added]
And another:
We petition the Obama Administration to:
Require all parents to vaccinate their children, or be charged with child endangerment.Over the years, humans have been on this earth, we have developed a means to help us become immune to certain diseases, using one of our bodies most base functions of fighting off diseases our bodies have been exposed to previously. Vaccination is one of the most important things to keep us healthy and kill off deadly diseases.
Recently, however there have been many parents who are outright refusing to vaccinate their children, based on misinformation. These people have single-handedly managed to spread and bring back diseases such as whooping cough, polio, measles and mumps.
That is why we petition the Obama administration to make it illegal to not vaccinate your children. When parents refuse to vaccinate their children, they are endangering their children’s lives and the lives of others.
Published Date: Feb 03, 2015
Issues: Civil Rights and Liberties, Disabilities, Human RightsSignatures needed by March 05, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 98,480
Total signatures on this petition 1,520
[emphasis added]
And the anti-vaccine crowd has one, too:
We petition the Obama Administration to:
PROHIBIT ANY LAWS MANDATING THE FORCE AND REQUIREMENT OF VACCINATIONS OF ANY KIND.No human being should be FORCED to be vaccinated against their will and/or personal/religious beliefs. I petition against making vaccinations of any kind mandatory. This includes forcing children to be vaccinated to attend public schools, activities, and daycare centers. This also includes adults working in the public or private sector.
Published Date: Feb 04, 2015
Issues: Civil Rights and Liberties, Health Care, Human RightsSignatures needed by March 06, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 81,437
Total signatures on this petition 18,563
[emphasis added, title capitalization in the original]
There appears to be slightly more enthusiasm for the spread of contagion.
Interestingly the last petition doesn’t provide a rationale for refusal. “Because” doesn’t cut it when it comes to public health issues. It never has.
U.S. Supreme Court cases:
JACOBSON v. COM. OF MASSACHUSETTS, 197 U.S. 11 (1905)
ZUCHT v. KING, 260 U.S. 174 (1922)
It has been long established legally and morally that public health and science trump “just because”.
Previously:
Hillary (D): get your shots (February 3, 2015)
