Mandated Vaccinations

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The Harmful Effects of Mandated Vaccinations “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid for it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission”-John F. Kennedy. American society has succeeded for over two hundred and fifty years following an ideology that this quote exemplifies perfectly. Written in our very own declaration of independence is the belief that all people are entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” As such, the idea of mandating anything that opposes these values is a clear violation of the freedom and liberty Americans have come to know and love. One such example of something that would transgress these treasured principles is the idea of mandatory …show more content…
First, basic human rights are often defined as rights that people hold simply by virtue of existing (Todd 1). These rights include rights to avoid harm, rights to personal expression, and rights to individual freedom. People who hold the belief that getting vaccinated will cause them some form of bodily harm should be entitled to refuse any mandatory vaccinations. On top of this belief, one should consider that getting vaccinated means putting foreign and most of the time unknown substances into one’s body, which is one of the main contributing factors leading to vaccine-related fear. Second, while there are several ways one can become exempt from vaccinations, such as through religious exemptions, personal exemptions, and in rare cases, ideological exemptions, their prominence can only go so far (Todd 2). Exemptions are typically shut down by companies and schools that require vaccines, in which one is not permitted to work or attend unless they are vaccinated. This becomes problematic as shutting down these exemptions also infringes on the rights of people who hold these exemptions for genuine, valid reasons and cannot get vaccinated for medical