On the one hand, people have a right to a safe and healthy environment. Governments regulate this environment. Polio has been eliminated from Belgium but it's a very serious disease. If people are carrying infectious diseases, people have a right to be protected from this.
On this other hand, jailing a parent for non-compliance is beyond ridiculous! We are talking about polio here. This law is out-dated and in my opinion, unnecessary in Belgium. And an $8000 fine is very vindictive. If you want the children living well and healthfully then I suggest you don't eliminate their parents bank accounts! Not to mention losing their parents to the prison system - who is being really punished here?
Given the influx of immigrants from countries with active polio, I would suggest a mandate for the newcomers to the country, rather than the children already there. Of course, we do not know the details of who these children are, where they are from or if there are religious objections.
I wish we'd spend more time locking parents up who beat, abuse, starve and molest their children, instead of parents who refuse to vaccinate. I am a parent who delays certain vaccinations and refuses a (very) limited number. I've done my research and feel very comfortable in my decisions. The thought of me being put to prison for this, or fined an exorbitant amount of money is outlandish. I bet a man who beat his wife to a pulp in Belgium got fined half that. It's wrong and overly punative and the government is sending a very mixed message to the children they claim to want to protect.
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There are definitely two sides to this.
On the one hand, people have a right to a safe and healthy environment. Governments regulate this environment. Polio has been eliminated from Belgium but it's a very serious disease. If people are carrying infectious diseases, people have a right to be protected from this.
On this other hand, jailing a parent for non-compliance is beyond ridiculous! We are talking about polio here. This law is out-dated and in my opinion, unnecessary in Belgium. And an $8000 fine is very vindictive. If you want the children living well and healthfully then I suggest you don't eliminate their parents bank accounts! Not to mention losing their parents to the prison system - who is being really punished here?
Given the influx of immigrants from countries with active polio, I would suggest a mandate for the newcomers to the country, rather than the children already there. Of course, we do not know the details of who these children are, where they are from or if there are religious objections.
I wish we'd spend more time locking parents up who beat, abuse, starve and molest their children, instead of parents who refuse to vaccinate. I am a parent who delays certain vaccinations and refuses a (very) limited number. I've done my research and feel very comfortable in my decisions. The thought of me being put to prison for this, or fined an exorbitant amount of money is outlandish. I bet a man who beat his wife to a pulp in Belgium got fined half that. It's wrong and overly punative and the government is sending a very mixed message to the children they claim to want to protect.
March 12, 2008 - 1:30pmThis Comment
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