B.C. judge orders vaccinations for two boys following parental dispute
Credit to Author: Keith Fraser| Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2020 20:15:35 +0000
A B.C. judge has ordered that a father be given permission to have his two young sons get routine vaccinations and other necessary medical and dental treatments that were challenged by the mother.
The dad, who is only identified by initials in a court ruling, told the judge that he had requested on numerous occasions that the mom consent to the children being vaccinated, from the time she was pregnant with their first boy until just before the court hearing.
The couple, who live in B.C.’s Interior, met in 2012 and were in a relationship for just over five years during which the two children were born, according to the ruling.
The mom said that she was not entirely opposed to the children being vaccinated or having them comply with reasonable medical and dental recommendations but did not want unnecessary inoculations.
She was also against having X-rays done by the children’s dentist, a move that resulted in one of the boys having to get a root canal, a cavity filled and teeth pulled because of her refusal to consent to the routine dental procedure.
The mom also said she didn’t want the children vaccinated for diseases that no longer exist in Canada and wants them tested for immunities before any determination is made about vaccinations.
But in her ruling, provincial court Judge Stella Frame noted that the two boys, one of whom is in Grade 1 and the other in daycare, are healthy and have no immunity problems or ailments that would otherwise make them ineligible for live vaccines.
“In other words, there are no health presentations in either child that would cause their doctor to recommend against vaccinations.”
The dad said he travelled for work, coming in contact with people throughout Canada and the United States, and wanted the children vaccinated in line with immunization schedules issued by Immunize B.C.
He said he’d received a letter from Interior Health advising that the mom has a documented refusal on file and recommending the older boy be given age-appropriate immunizations.
Because of the mom’s refusal, the medical health officer required him to obtain a letter with her agreement to vaccinate, a copy of a custody order showing he has sole authority to make medical decisions or an order from a judge.
In reaching her conclusion, the judge questioned a report provided by the mom that dealt with, among other things, adverse reactions from vaccinations but accepted most of the materials provided by the dad in support of the shots.
“That does not mean to say that parents should blindly follow whatever medical advice they are given,” she said.
“Errors — sometimes catastrophic ones — can be made by the pharmaceutical and medical industries. It remains the responsibility of the parents to hear the advice, ask the questions, do the research and reach the appropriate decision for their children.”
The “current best evidence” is that vaccination is preferable to non-vaccination, in order to protect those who cannot be vaccinated as well as to protect ourselves, added the judge.
Frame ordered that parental responsibility for the medical and dental treatments for both boys should be in the hands of the father but that the mom should be advised of any medical appointments and recommended treatments.
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