Professional paper
MANDATORY VACCINATION OF CHILDRENVIOLATION OF PARENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS OR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS PROTECTION?
Marijana Šego
; Pravni fakultet Osijek
Abstract
According to the definition by the World Health Organization, in absence of any illness, health is considered a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing. In Republic of Croatia protection of the people from infection diseases regulates the area of protection of the citizens from the itemized infectious diseases and prevention procedures for those diseases. The Minister of Health determines which infectious diseases fall into the above category and the government bodies and local administration shall ensure that the measures for protection from the infectious diseases are taken in accordance with legal regulations.
The paper analyzes legal regulations ordering mandatory vaccination of children in accordance with the Mandatory Vaccination of School and Preschool Children Programme. It analyzes the valid legislative regulation applicable to the Republic of Croatia, specifically its concordance with the Constitution. Another question is whether this legal regulation is contradictory to the Constitution and whether the legal definition of mandatory vaccination of children is against the Constitution, as well as if the country needs the legislative protection of its population from infectious diseases, which includes the mandatory vaccination of children. Furthermore the question is whether the legal definition of vaccination of children as mandatory is against the provisions of Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, i.e. the issue of application of the Convention on Children's Rights as specifically interpreted within the applicable legislation. The paper also deals with the issue if the protection of a child, and specifically child's health justifies the state's influence on and the interference with the decision of the parents.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the justification of regulation of children's vaccination; i.e. whether that state has the obligation to protect the special children's rights and guarantee a child the right to healthy life according to the definition of health within the framework of protection against infectious diseases for all citizens.
Keywords
right to health; parent's rights; vaccination of children; children s rights; human rights
Hrčak ID:
132108
URI
Publication date:
30.8.2014.
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