Last September the state of California passed the bill AB499 which allows children 12 and older to be vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases with vaccines like Gardasil, without informing the parents or getting their consent. In fact, even after the vaccine is administered the parents will not be informed, and if there are any medical complications the parents will have to cover the costs.
Although parents not vaccinating their children is a problem in the US, which puts the entire society at risk for a preventable disease, this law is not the answer. For one, this law is overstepping the boundaries of physicians, it is one thing to encourage parents to vaccinate their children, it is another thing entirely to force vaccination upon them. This law undermines the very foundations of medical ethics as it violates the concept of “voluntary informed consent” dating back to the Nuremberg Code.
The proponents of this law argue that the children are “informed” and that the doctor is required to receive “voluntary consent” from the child before administering the vaccine. But this point doesn’t make much sense, 12 year olds are by any definition of the word, children – the same children we don’t let talk to strangers or even go on a field trip without parental consent. And yet, we give these children, who are just beginning to learn basic biological facts in school the right to make an “informed” decision on whether or not they should get a vaccine.
According to American Academy of Pediatrics, “Only patients who have appropriate decisional capacity and legal empowerment can give their informed consent to medical care.” Clearly, in this case a child of 12 does not have the “appropriate decisional capacity” to make this decision due to numerous factors. First, oftentimes even adults don’t properly understand all the information given to them by a doctor, so there is little chance that a young child will be able to understand all the risks and the benefits associated with the vaccine, and then be able to use that knowledge to make an informed decision. Moreover, children are often unaware of their family history, allergies, or other potential medical problems they could be at risk for, all of which are vital in the decision of getting a vaccine. Finally, a child is easily susceptible to being pressured and swayed by a person of authority, such as a teacher or doctor, which invalidates the notion of “voluntary” consent.
Another pressing question this law brings up is, why this vaccine? There are so many other deadly diseases out there that children are often not vaccinated for, such as smallpox or polio, and yet the state doesn’t mandate vaccination for them. So what is so special about Gardasil? The answer is money. Pharmaceutical and medical lobbyists played a large role in passing AB499 through the California state government, and they stand to make millions of dollars, as each vaccine costs the government $108. Thus, not only does this law violate the concept of informed consent, but it also pushes health factors aside and allows financial rewards to play a role in the administration of medical procedures, a clear conflict of interests.
Bill AB499 has the potential to rattle the foundations of medical ethics, as it muddles the issue of informed consent, and allows medical standards to be altered out of greed. Although this is not the only case where this has happened, it is time to make a stand before informed consent becomes a thing of the past.
1 comment:
Don't really get to your own perspective until the last few sentences. Expand if you plan to submit this one. Rest is good.
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