Gordon Forgey

Not so long ago, measles was a fact of life.

Then, because of effective vaccines and public health programs, measles was all but wiped out. The word itself dropped from common parlance.

Now it is back, spreading to vulnerable populations. The number of people infected still is not great, but the disease is wildly contagious.

The return and spread of measles is not because of some genetic evolution of the virus or lack of medicine. It is instead because many parents have decided not to get their children inoculated. In part, that is because of a supposed link between vaccinations and autism. That link has been refuted. Experts and doctors call those claims specious. Overwhelmingly, health professionals recommend vaccinations against this disease and others.

Yet, many kids remain unvaccinated. Such is the “personal choice” option available in Washington and other states.

The new outbreak of the disease has sparked a debate over the responsibilities of parents to the health and welfare of their children as well as their responsibilities to the health and welfare of others in society. This debate goes deeper than measles.

Personal choice is more than just choosing to keep one’s own child from being vaccinated. It is choosing to endanger other children.

Measles is not the worst disease that modern medicine can control, nor is it the worst disease that can run rampant if proper precautions are not taken.

Personal choice, in this case, is not the wise choice.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher