Ethics Issue:
“Herd immunity” is one of the primary considerations for mandatory vaccinations in the
United States. That is, when a large segment of the population is inoculated against certain
infectious diseases, individuals – both vaccinated and unvaccinated – benefit, as well as the
community as a whole. A true mandate for vaccinating all schoolchildren in the United
States has not been enacted since World War I. Today, every state except Mississippi and
West Virginia has exceptions that allow parents to exempt their children from state
vaccination requirements on the basis of religious or other personal beliefs. Recent
epidemics of childhood diseases such as measles, mumps, and pertussis in the United States
indicate that objections to mandatory vaccinations have increased.
1. In your opinion, does a parent’s failure to vaccinate his or her child constitute a lack of
social responsibility? Explain your answer.
2. Should one’s concern for other supersede objections to vaccination on personal or
religious grounds? Explain your answer.
Case Study:
arbara, a medical assistant, noticed that her aunt, who suffered chronic pain from a neck
injury, carried two bottles of Percodan in her purse. “Two doctors write prescriptions for
me,” Barbara’s aunt confided, “but neither knows about the other. That’s the only way I can
get enough medication to control my pain.”
1. In Barbara’s place, would you report your aunt’s deception tot he physicians named on
her prescriptions? Explain your answer.
2. What would you tell your aunt?
3. How can physicians guard against such abuses by patients?

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