I was doing some reading on Buck v. Bell, a 1927 Supreme Court case that sentenced a mentally disabled 18-year-old girl to undergo forced sterilization. (This was back in the age of eugenics, when those in power wanted to stop immigrants, ethnic minorities, and the so-called "feeble-minded" from reproducing).
What on does this have to do with vaccinations?
Check out what Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote in his opinion to justify the sterilization:
That got me thinking....In our time, women undergo court-ordered cesarean deliveries. A little boy in Minnesota undergoes court-ordered chemotherapy. And the CDC runs an op/ed on its website that condones forced vaccination, stating:
Reading that portion of Buck v. Bell sent shivers down my spine. If we lose the freedom of choice and conscience for one medical intervention, what's to stop us from losing it for another? Is the principle of forced cesarean "broad enough" to cover forced vaccination? Are these principles "broad enough" to cover any forced medical intervention?
We all may disagree on whether or not to vaccinate...or which vaccines to give and when to give them. But we can all agree that if we lose the right to refuse vaccines, we can lose any of our rights to bodily integrity and medical self-determination. This gives us all the more reason to guard our freedom with vigilance.
What on does this have to do with vaccinations?
Check out what Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote in his opinion to justify the sterilization:
Quote:
| The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes. |
Quote:
| Given the increasing number of states allowing philosophical exemptions to vaccines, at some point we are going to be forced to decide whether it is our inalienable right to catch and transmit potentially fatal infections. |
We all may disagree on whether or not to vaccinate...or which vaccines to give and when to give them. But we can all agree that if we lose the right to refuse vaccines, we can lose any of our rights to bodily integrity and medical self-determination. This gives us all the more reason to guard our freedom with vigilance.
