Abstract

GUADARRAMA-OROZCO, Jéssica H.; VARGAS-LOPEZ, Guillermo  and  VIESCA-TREVINO, Carlos. Parental decisions that do not risk children's lives but place them at significant harm: foregoing vaccination. Bol. Med. Hosp. Infant. Mex. [online]. 2015, vol.72, n.5, pp.353-357. ISSN 1665-1146.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmhimx.2015.09.007.

The decisions of parents to forego vaccines "mandatory" for their children generate in physician and pediatricians some dilemmas and issues such as what to do when parents do not authorize administration of vaccines to their children? Do parents place their children at risk severe enough to notify governmental child protection services and treat this as parental negligence? What to do in the situation where the parental decision to forego immunization of their children affects others? The best interests of the child include ensuring the child's benefit over any other situation. Related to this, parents against vaccines have arguments to justify their position that physicians cannot force parents to immunize their children. By the same principle, physicians must ensure the welfare of children and remain alert, respecting that parental decisions do not exceed the threshold of "no harm to the child" and only if the parental decision in regard to foregoing vaccination places the child at risk of serious harm is government intervention justified. This resource should be left as the last resort because most conflicts must be resolved within the relationship of the physicians with the parents.

Keywords : Vaccines; Immunization; Child welfare; Parental decisions; Damage threshold.