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Ethics Consult: Can Pediatrician Fire Vaccine Refusers?

— You make the call

Last Updated August 28, 2020
MedpageToday
The blue-gloved hand of a physician holds a syringe while a patient puts their hand up in refusal

Welcome to Ethics Consult -- an opportunity to discuss, debate (respectfully), and learn together. We present an ethical dilemma in patient care (hypothetical for this edition); you vote on your decision in the case. Next week, we'll reveal how you all made the call. And stay tuned -- an ethics expert will weigh in next week with an ethical framework to help you learn and prepare.

After a substantial measles outbreak in the community, a pediatrician decides to permanently dismiss any patient, new or old, whose parents refuse standard vaccinations for their child or insist on schedules not consistent with CDC recommendations.

See the results and what an ethics expert has to say.

And check out some of our past Ethics Consult cases:

Should Christian Clinic Provide IVF to Lesbian Couple?

Is a COVID Human Challenge Trial Ethical?

Ethics of Testing Drugs on Down Syndrome Patients