Law Speak - Crime for not vaccinating your child?

LATELY the papers are gushing with news about vaccinating children. The deputy health minister says he is planning to make it a crime for not vaccinating one's child. The minister of health disagrees. He prefers educating the parents instead.
The Women's Ministry is mulling to prosecute parents who refuse to vaccinate their child. Some radio stations have come into the act too – vilifying parents who refuse to vaccinate their offspring.
Statistics have been rolled out to show an increase of cases of measles and deaths from diphtheria – all attributed to a failure to vaccinate. No clear causal links have been established, though.
To complicate matters, Indonesia acknowledged that since 2003, fake vaccines have been given to millions of children. This follows a scandal in China involving improperly stored vaccines distributed in 24 provinces since 2010.
The United States Supreme Court has determined that vaccines are "unavoidably unsafe", meaning "in the present state of human knowledge, are quite incapable of being made safe for their intended and ordinary use." So vaccine manufacturers cannot be held liable for any injuries that result from the administration of a vaccine: Bruesewitz v. Wyeth (2011).
California has introduced the "most stringent" law that came into effect this July – called "SB 277". A child who does not take a vaccine shot, cannot attend any educational institute: neither public nor private schools, day-care facilities and preschools.
But the right to an education is compulsory (as in Malaysia). Which has prompted a dream team of US lawyers to sue the state – for violating the fundamental constitutional right to education; as well as to free exercise of religion, bodily integrity, and equal protection under the law.
A small percentage (2.5%) of California's school-aged children use a personal belief exemption to opt out of vaccinations that violate their parents' religious or deeply-held beliefs; or which are deemed unnecessary or potentially harmful by their parents and healthcare providers. These children have been partially vaccinated or show antibody make-up that qualifies as proof of immunity to disease.
This California law eliminates altogether a parent's right to exempt his or her child from one, some, or all vaccines. In 2016, California parents will be forced to give their children more than 40 doses of 10 federally recommended vaccines. Medical exemption is denied to 99.99% of children.
Malaysia's Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development wants to prosecute parents who "abuse, neglect, abandon, or expose a child in such a way that will likely cause physical or emotional injury". It is a crime punishable with up to 20 years' imprisonment.
Lawyers interviewed online suggest that such a move will be legally unfeasible, impractical, and even counter-productive. One senior lawyer said this would be "stretching the law too wide". It could hardly be "neglect" when some parents prefer to build up their child's own immune system naturally – citing as analogy people who prefer not to take antibiotics – and rely on their own body's immune response instead.
The debate on the pros and cons for vaccination is rife. While the predominant mainstream voices in Malaysia urge vaccinations, those against, including well known paediatricians and health workers, argue that vaccines are not safe for all kids. Every individual has different DNA, and vaccines aren't tailor-made.
What works well in one child may have shocking results for others. Hence the one-size-fits-all vaccines may not be entirely suitable for all kids. Within every community there are those – mostly infants under one year of age and those with compromised immune systems – who can't tolerate vaccines. There are others for whom a particular vaccine never elicited a strong immune response.
For them it may be inappropriate to apply the "herd immunity" argument – that a critical mass of vaccinated people shields the rest.
For sure we do not want the spread of life-threatening diseases – like meningitis and the like. At the same time, reportedly, there is a rise of chronic autoimmune illnesses among children. Could the aggressive pursuit of germs – both in our environment and in the human body – might have something to do with it?
Rather than criminalising parents for not vaccinating their children or excluding them from schools – a rational public debate and awareness programmes should be pursued. Then parents will be in a position to base their decisions on an informed basis – not out of fear of the unknown.
Significantly, US pharmaceutical companies and their trade groups allegedly gave more than US$2 million (RM7.83 million) to their legislators in 2013-2014, many of whom sit on health committees. Leading pharmaceutical companies also spent nearly US$3 million more during the 2013-2014 legislative session lobbying the legislature, the governor, the state pharmacists' board and other agencies, according to state filings.
Perhaps, to inspire confidence, pharmaceutical companies should be de-linked from influencing health policy decisions. And any conflict of interest made transparent.
Gurdial, a former law professor, believes in a fair and open debate on issues that may impact people's lives. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com