A discussion on public health and individual choice
Questions to ponder
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Do we have a right to tell others how to live? If so, under what circumstances do we have such a right?
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To what extent can/should a special organization (e.g., a trade union, a corporation, a school, a government) have a say in the health of its members? When can an organization force a member to subscribe to its health “mandates”? Are there certain medical decisions in which third parties have a legitimate stake in?
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What is the “public good”? Is it distinct from the “common good”? Should the public and/or common good influence medical treatments, healthcare, and/or public policy? How so?
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Are there times when the public and/or common good outweigh individual liberties? If so, under what circumstances? What does this greater public/common good look like and why is its presence more desirable than that of individual liberty?
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Do we have a right to tell others how to raise their children? If so, under what circumstances do we have such a right?
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Under what circumstances can a third party overrule parents’ (medical) decisions?
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If vaccines caused autism, should we still give them to children?
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To what extent should we tolerate pseudoscience? To what extent should we tolerate quackery? Alternative medicine? Complementary medicine? Holistic medicine? How should we police the boundaries of our biomedical landscape?
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How should a government handle the medical concerns of its governed?
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Should all people be vaccinated?
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To what extent should we respect the religious beliefs of others in the course of their medical treatment?
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How much should vaccines cost?
Essays of possible interest
- Illeal-lymphoid-ndular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children
- The moral case for the routine vaccination of children in developed and developing countries
- Ethics and infectious disease
