'My child, my choice' : are parents dutybound to vaccinate their children?

Abstract

In this article I explore if parents are dutybound to vaccinate their children with specific reference to section 28 of the Constitution and the relevant provisions of the Children’s Act that give effect to section 28. To determine if parents are duty-bound to vaccinate their children, I first briefly inspect if there are any laws in South Africa expressly mandating childhood vaccination. The focus of this article centres around the question of whether parents have a duty to vaccinate their children, as inferred or implied from the body of existing and legally recognised children’s rights and in conjunction with parental rights (and correlating duties). I investigate whether vaccination is a basic health care service, and if parents are then dutybound to realise the child’s right to basic health care services; if non-vaccination possibly amounts to child abuse and/or neglect; and the best interests of the child in the context of vaccination. The article also considers the cultural and religious rights and freedoms of parents and how these interplay with a possible parental duty to vaccinate. It further offer avenues for further research and the need for legislative reform on this issue.