Author/Editor		Begg, Norman
Title		Ethical issues in vaccination
Translated title		Etična vprašanja in cepljenje
Type		članek
Source		Zdrav Vars
Vol. and No.		Letnik 38, št. 11-12
Publication year		1999
Volume		str. 334-6
Language		eng
Abstract		The ethical issues that relate to the practice of vaccination in developed countries, with particular reference to the experience in Britain are considered. It is our ethical duty to support the use of vaccines that are safe, effective and that offer benefit both to individual children and to society, and also to ensure that parents have access to good information that enables them to make healthy choices for their children. It is accepted good medical practice to follow four basic ethical principles: autonomy (self-determination, freedom of choice); beneficence (doing good); non-maleficence (not doing harm) and justice (fairness). An ethical duty of care is to undertake interventions which do good to individuals. The right to autonomy is based on the assumption that if any individual decides to opt out, then the consequences of that decision will not harm others. The World Health Organisation has endorsed this principle by stating that no child should be denied immunisation without serious consideration of the potential consequences.., both for the individual child and for the community. The final principle, justice, means that vaccination should be freely available to all, and that no individuals should be denied access. In Britain, the bringing of a child by a parent (or responsible guardian) for immunisation after an invitation to attend for this purpose is considered as acceptance that the child may be immunised: consent is implied in the absence of any spcific objection. It could be argued that a parent who deliberately witholds consent to vaccination for their child is denying the child his or her right to be protected with a proven vaccine. (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters).
Summary		Prikazani so etični pristopi, povezani s cepljenjem v razvitih državah. Etično je, da uporabljamo le varna cepiva, ki so koristna za posameznega otroka in za vso populacijo, in da staršem cepljenih otrok omogočimo dobro informacijo, da se bodo lahko odločili v korist svojega otroka. Dobra ambulantna praksa mora upoštevati štiri osnovna načela: prosto izbiro, korist, neškodljivost in pravičnost. Pravica do proste izbire temelji na predpostavki, da se posameznik lahko izogne posegu, če zaradi tega ni posledic, ki bi škodovale drugim. Pravičnost pomeni, da mora biti cepljenje dostopno vsem in da nihče ne sme biti prikrajšan. V Angliji velja, da pisni pristanek na cepljenje ni potreben v primeru, da pripeljejo otrok na cepljenje starši. Nekaj staršev se zateka k alternativnim metodam, kot je homeopatija. Celo svet fakultete za homeoptaijo (Council of the Faculty of Homeopathy_ v Angliji, ki predstavlja homeopate z medicinsko izobrazbo, podpira program cepljenja in poudarja, da morajo biti za cepljenje, v kolikor ni kontraindikacij, uporabljena le preiskušena in odobrena klasična cepiva.
Descriptors		VACCINATION ETHICS, MEDICAL CHILD WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY HOMEOPATHY