The Crier Inquires: Should it be illegal to not vaccinate your child?

Ohio teen Ethan Lindenberger made national news last week for going against his anti-vaccine parents’ wishes and getting vaccinated. His story has brought light to the debate on whether or not parents should be required to vaccinate their children. So we thought we’d ask Conant students: Should it be illegal to not get your child vaccinated?

Dave Patel, ‘22:

“[Vaccinations] should be required because certain kids in poor countries face serious problems like disease and water contamination. [Not vaccinating] should be illegal because parents need to protect their children.”

Jacqueline Flores, ‘21:

“It depends on how they feel, or their religion. Some people believe that they don’t need [to be vaccinated], and that the body can handle itself on its own. So no, it shouldn’t be illegal because [whether or not parents should vaccinate their children] really depends on what the parents believe.”

Kevin Kusiak, ‘20:

“It should be legal for children to not be vaccinated because if parents are making the decisions, they might choose not to do so because of financial or cultural reasons. If something is holding the parents back from vaccinating their kids, they have the right to not vaccinate them.”

Bum Boldbataar, 19:

“[Not vaccinating] should be illegal. Because of people who aren’t vaccinating their kids, we have diseases like polio and measles coming back.”

Grace Nocula, Librarian:

“I think [vaccinations] are very important because they prevent a lot of sicknesses. Vaccines have been on the market for a long time, and even though some parents are worried about vaccines affecting their children’s growth, it is my opinion that they should be vaccinated.”

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