Manadatory Vaccinations in Mississippi Linked to Rise in Homeschooling?
2008-10-20

Recently, I ran across this news item about parents in Mississippi that are homeschooling to avoid mandatory vaccinations. All 50 states do allow for exemptions to mandatory vaccinations. Exceptions vary by state and may be for religious, philosophical or medical reasons. Mississippi is one of two states that only allow medical exemptions. This leaves parents in who are opposed to vaccinations few options.

Some parents believe that vaccinations pose a health threat citing the increased occurrence of autism and other health issues. Other parents object to vaccinations for religious or philosophical differences. Still others believe that the government does not have the right to mandate vaccinations.

Public health officials claim that when administered properly vaccinations are safe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, 131 cases of measles have been reported so far this year. Ninety-one percent of these cases involved unvaccinated individuals. Recent outbreaks of measles in Chicago (25 out of 30 cases) and Grant County Washington (11 out of 19 cases) were primarily unvaccinated homeschoolers. Supporters of mandatory vaccinations for all children like Arthur Caplan, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, believe that the growing number of unvaccinated children poses threat to the general population.

I support vaccinations for personal reasons. However, I believe parents should have the right to decide if their children will be vaccinated or not. Since Mississippi does not require parents to register intent to homeschool to me, it seems inconclusive if the vaccination laws have actually attributed to an increase in homeschooling.