As renascent outbreaks of preventable childhood illnesses continue to crop up throughout the country, pediatricians are faced with the ethical dilemma of whether or not to treat children whose parents don't believe in immunizations.
The ethical complexity of the situation makes the decision for pediatricians particularly fraught, according to The Washington Post. Physicians must weigh their medical obligation to care for pediatric patients against the potential risk an unvaccinated child could pose to other patients, while also considering parents' right to make health decisions for their own children.
Here are three key takeaways from the Lena H. Sun's article in the Post.
1. For years, the official position of the American Association of Pediatrics was to treat children regardless of parents' views on vaccination. However, this summer, the organization announced for the first time their members may turn families away if the physician has exhausted all counseling efforts to convince the parent's otherwise.
2. The rate of pediatricians refusing to take treat children of anti-vaccinator parents increased in recent years. In 2013, nearly one in eight pediatricians reported always refusing such families — twice as many as in 2006.
3. While most pediatricians don't turn away anti-vaccination families, that could change in the future. Some pro-vaccine families are calling on physicians to take a firm stand on the issue. Gary Marshall, MD, a pediatric infectious-disease expert at the University of Louisville, told the Post the university's pediatric clinics have been getting telephone calls from parents asking if the clinic fires patients who refuse vaccines, since they don't want to bring their kids to the clinic if there are unvaccinated children nearby.
Regarding the trend of treating families regardless of their stance on immunization, Dr. Marshall said, "It's possible that tide is turning."
To read Len H. Sun's full piece in the Washington Post, click here.
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