Jail For Belgians Who Reject Polio Shot [View All]

[DeSwiss]

Jail for Belgians who reject polio shot

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer
Wed Mar 12, 6:28 PM ET

LONDON - As doctors struggle to eradicate polio worldwide, one of their biggest problems is persuading parents to vaccinate their children. In Belgium, authorities are resorting to an extreme measure: prison sentences. Two sets of parents in Belgium were recently handed five-month prison terms for failing to vaccinate their children against polio. Each parent was also fined $8,000. "It's a pretty extraordinary case," said Dr. Ross Upshur, director of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. "The Belgians have a right to take some action against the parents, given the seriousness of polio, but the question is, is a prison sentence disproportionate?"

The parents' sentences were delayed to give them a chance to vaccinate their children. But if that deadline also passes without the children receiving the injections, the parents could be put behind bars. Because of privacy laws, Belgian officials would not talk specifically about the cases, such as why the parents refused the vaccine or how much longer they have to get their children vaccinated. The polio vaccine is the only one required by Belgian law. Exceptions are granted only if parents can prove their children might have a bad physical reaction to the vaccine. There are no exceptions for people who object to vaccinations on religious grounds.

"Polio is a very serious disease and has caused great suffering in the past," said Dr. Victor Lusayu, head of Belgium's international vaccine center. "The discovery of the vaccine has eliminated polio from Europe and it is simply the law in Belgium that you have to be vaccinated. ... At the end of the day, the law must be respected."

The highly infectious disease is spread through water and mainly strikes children under 5. Initial symptoms include fever, headaches, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and fatigue. The polio virus invades the body's nervous system and can lead to irreversible paralysis within hours. In extreme cases, patients can die when their breathing muscles are immobilized.

Some ethicists back the hard-line Belgian stance. "Nobody has the right to unfettered liberty, and people do not have a right to endanger their kids," said John Harris, a professor of bioethics at the University of Manchester. "The parents in this case do not have any rights they can appeal to. They have obligations they are not fulfilling."









http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_on_re_eu/polio_vaccine_prison">MORE

- All us Boomer kids can be recognized by the polio scars on our left arms. Back in the 50s, I remember kids my age on crutches with their polio braces clicking and clacking on their legs as they walked. And the iron lung machines that many were imprisoned in for the rest of their lives.

And I can't see how any parent could risk such a fate for their child.
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DeSwiss


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