• Ethical Arguments In Public Health Policy
Overview
Write a 3-page letter to the school board of your child's school in which you argue in favor of a mandatory-vaccination policy for school attendance.
What makes bioethics so compelling is that public issues can quickly become private dilemmas, or even crises. In this assessment, you bring the full weight of ethical analysis to bear as you argue for a particular public health policy that involves trade-offs for some individuals.
Ethics can be applied to resolve the ongoing debate over freedom versus security in American public policy.
Context
Public health ethics concerns the general well-being of a society, nation, and even the world. Much of Western philosophy is based on the uniqueness of the individual and the rights afforded to us to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. Our focus on the individual, however, can lead us away from the fact that we live in groups, large and small. Diseases do not recognize individuals, but can move through groups without regard to human-made borders. Public health ethics addresses these concerns and, thus, is one of the more complex areas of the already complex subject of bioethics.
Questions to Consider
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.
Internet Resources
Access the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.
• Santa Clara University, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (n.d.). Ethics cases. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/cases.cfm
• Center for Practical Bioethics. (n.d.). Case studies. Retrieved from http://www.practicalbioethics.org/resources/case-studies
Bookstore Resources
The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Campbell, A. V. (2013).
Bioethics: The basics. New York, NY: Routledge.
Assessment Instructions
Your two children attend a charter school in your neighborhood. You feel fortunate that the school is excellent in every way and that your children love it.
At the beginning of the year, two new children enter the school, and they have refused the required vaccinations. The parents claim that the refusal is based on long-held religious beliefs about the nature and function of medicine. The legal issues here will be resolved in the courts, but, meanwhile, two unvaccinated children are attending the school, and a decision must be made on ethical, not legal, grounds.
Directions
Write a letter to the school principal arguing for your position.
Include the basic facts:
• Summarize the ethical impetus behind vaccinations.
• Explain the benefits and trade-offs of vaccinations.
1. Use ethical theories to argue your case:
• Explain why your position will produce the most good and do the least harm. (The Utilitarian Approach)
• Explain why your position best respects the rights of all who have a stake. (The Rights Approach)
• Explain why your position treats people equally or proportionately. (The Justice Approach)
• Explain why your position best serves the community as a whole, not just some members. (The Common Good Approach)
• Explain why your position leads you to act as the sort of person you want to be. (The Virtue Approach)
2. Include the following in your conclusion:
• Explain how your decision can balance the concerns of stakeholders.
• Predict the outcomes of your decision and the lesson gained from it.
Additional Requirements
• Length: Submit 3 pages, not including the title page and reference page, which you must also include in your assessment.
• References: Cite at least 2 current scholarly or professional resources.
• Format: Follow current APA style and formatting guidelines for your references.
• Font: Use Times New Roman, 12-point, double-spaced font.