Andrew Napolitano: To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate?
We have the right to make health care choices free from government interference.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie unwittingly ignited a firestorm earlier this week when he responded to a reporter's question about forced vaccinations of children by suggesting that the law in the U.S. needs to balance the rights of parents against the government's duty to maintain standards of public health. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul argued not for balance, but for bias—in favor of parents. To Paul, the issue is not science. That's because in a free society, we are free to reject scientific orthodoxy and seek unorthodox scientific cures. The issue, according to Paul, is: Who owns your body?
This is a question the government does not want to answer truthfully, because the government believes it owns your body, argues Andrew Napolitano. But if Paul is right, if we do own our bodies and if we are the custodians of our children's bodies until they reach maturity, then we have the right to make health care choices free from government interference, even if our choices are grounded in philosophy or religion or emotion or alternative science.