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10 Barry L. Child & Fam. L.J. 1 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/cflj10 and id is 1 raw text is: Floridians' Right to Choose or Refuse Vaccinations Patrick E. Tolan, Jr.* ABSTRACT Every state must strike the right balance between an individual's freedom to make medical choices and the state's role in protecting the public health and the welfare of its people. Florida, by and through its Constitution, has afforded heightened protections for individual self- determination over medical treatment decisions and evaluates infringement of these private medical rights with strict scrutiny. This article is about legal rights for adults to obtain or refuse vaccines and for parents to decide the timing or administration of any vaccine or group of vaccines proposed for their school-aged, preschool, newborn, or unborn children. I argue that States have an obligation to their people to strive for herd immunity from contagious viruses. However, I urge using voluntary measures to encourage vaccination when such measures can be protective of public health. I also argue that the protections of the Florida Constitution regarding individual liberties and privacy could be emulated by other states to elevate state actions involving forced medical procedures * Professor Tolan teaches at WMU-Cooley Law School from the campus in Riverview, Florida. The remarks in this article reflect his own views and opinions and not necessarily those of WMU-Cooley Law School. Prior to his work at Cooley, Professor Tolan taught at Barry Law School and at the United States Air Force Academy. He has extensive experience in environmental law including toxic torts, remediation of past toxins under various federal statutes, natural resource damages, green buildings, and earth jurisprudence--putting the planet first as a life-saving force to protect humanity and all of nature. He has recently refocused his research agenda on protecting the most vulnerable members of our society--children and the unborn--from the hazards of human interference with God's plan. The author thanks Professor Brendan Bery, Dean James McGrath and my teaching assistant, Jeanneth Miranda, for their staunch support and assistance in the writing and publication process. I dedicate the article to my wife and Registered Nurse of 35 years, Tonya Leigh Tolan, without whose passion this article would not have come to fruition. 1

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