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IELTS Topic: HEALTH
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Parents deserve a choice about vaccination
Original source: The New York Times
In January 2014, lawmakers in the United Arab Emirates mandated that women breastfeed for two years, announcing that breastfeeding is a “duty, not an option.”
Should America follow suit? Should public health officials do everything they can to encourage, inform and facilitate breastfeeding? Yes. Do they have the right to force women to breastfeed? Not in a country that believes in freedom of choice.
There is tremendous evidence showing vaccinations prevent childhood diseases. Should public health officials do everything they can to encourage, inform and facilitate childhood vaccinations? Yes. Do they have the right to force parents to vaccinate their children? Absolutely not.
… public health officials should do everything they can to encourage (but not force) … childhood vaccinations
An American parent could reasonably decide not to follow the Centre for Disease Control’s current vaccination schedule by choosing instead to vaccinate on the schedule they use in Norway, which has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world. In Norway no childhood vaccinations are routinely given in the first three months of life whereas a 2-month-old American infant has been vaccinated against at least four diseases.
At the same time, 99 percent of Norwegian infants are breastfed when they leave the hospital and generous family leave policies facilitate successful (and exclusive) breastfeeding. For an American mom who is exclusively breastfeeding and not putting her child in daycare, following the Norwegian schedule would be a philosophical, evidence-based, demonstrably better choice.
The United Arab Emeriates now requires all women to breast feed their babies for two years. Mandating health care choices should not be the path of countries that value freedom.
Source: Zurijeta/Shutterstock
… in America we believe parents are capable of making their own decisions about their children’s health
It is a news media-driven misconception that parents who claim philosophical or religious exemptions are uneducated or misinformed. Most parents who individualise the vaccine schedule are actively educating themselves, continually assessing their family’s specific health needs, and doing everything they can to keep their children safe and healthy.
Unlike in the United Arab Emirates, in America we believe parents are capable of making their own decisions about their children’s health. We believe in freedom of choice. This freedom of choice extends to when — and even whether— parents vaccinate their kids.