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  • Parents Face Prison For Failing to Vaccinate Kids

    Is it okay for the state to interfere in parenting decisions if it’s a matter of public health? In Belgium, the answer to that question is an emphatic yes: two sets of parents have been charged with five-month prison sentences and fined 4,100 euros (about $8,000) for failing to vaccinate their children against polio. Belgium’s pioneering decision to punish offending parents with prison terms—France is the only other country that makes the vaccine mandatory by law—was criticized as overly strident by the World Health Organization, but hailed by many ethicists. The offending parents can avoid prison by getting their children vaccinated by a set deadline.

    According to John Harris, a bioethicist at the University of Manchester, “Nobody has the right to unfettered liberty, and people do not have a right to endanger their kids.” But in most states in the U.S., parents are allowed to opt out of required vaccinations, including polio, if they have religious or philosophical objections.

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  • Belgian Parents Love Their Kids More

    Belgian parents schoolsWe often go to great lengths for our kids. After all, we love them and want the best for them, right? And in matters like education, the right school can often mean a huge difference not only in quality of life in the near term but also years down the road; after all, we want our kids to have a great education so they can get the jobs they want later, etc. Right?

    So would you camp out all night in freezing weather to ensure your kid got a space in a certain school? Belgian parents would and did, last week, braving cold wet weather to queue up overnight to ensure a first-come, first-serve space for next school year in a prestigious French-speaking school.

     

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