kengr

IMHO, respect for someone's religion ends where their beliefs begin to threaten the lives and/or welfare of other people. So if their choices put other people at risk, I don't respect those choices, and I don't think anyone should. It's like the Wiccan Rede says: "An it harm none, do as you will." Choosing not to get vaccinated, especially choosing not to vaccinate your kids, is a major violation of the Rede and therefore I do not respect anyone whose choices put other's lives and welfare at risk. Especially when it's kids who are at risk. (I took an oath to Nahtahdjaiz, Child Goddess of Children, to protect kids, and I believe that respecting the choice to not vaccinate kids would be a violation of that oath.)

Now if they don't want to vaccinate themselves, that is a lesser offense in my book, and my take on them then is, if they want to make that choice, they should quarantine themselves away from the rest of us, like on an island in the middle of the ocean or something like that. Because it's still reckless endangerment, just not as much so.

Of course, then it gets complicated. I couldn't in good conscience let them breed on that island, to put kids at risk. But I am a strong believer in bodily autonomy¹ as well, so forced sterilization is out of the picture, too. It's a quandary.

Don't get me wrong, your solution is better than what we have currently, as it would separate the selfish assholes from the true believers. But if it was a choice between that and mandatory vaccinations for kids, I would go with mandatory vaccinations.

Letting the government force people to violate religious rules is a precedent you need to be *very* careful about applying.

Yes, and neither of those exceptions you mentioned has anything to do with the health and safety of the public at large. Drinking wine or taking peyote doesn't put millions of lives at risk of dying.

Also, forcing medical treatment on people has a bad history as well.

Oh? I've never heard anything about that. I've heard of things like black people being experimented on, but that didn't have anything to do with medical treatment.

1 = Obviously with the exception of where it begins to interfere with the health and safety of other people.