There is quite a bit of conflict in today’s society regarding protecting individual rights and protecting the good of the public. Some of the most debated policies include Obamacare, mandatory vaccinations, and gun laws. According to the Constitution, the role of the government is to preserve individual rights. However, the impact on the welfare of the public should also be accounted for.
In the case of Obamacare, an individual’s personal right to make decisions regarding their healthcare is being impacted by a government statute. The law requires that everyone purchase health care coverage or face a penalty. This directly impacts our personal freedom and has been challenged through the courts. The Supreme Court has found that the statute
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Over the last decade, there has been a movement to stop the requirement of vaccinations. Many parents want the right to make decisions for the well-being of their own children. They do not want the government to come into their household and tell them how they are to raise their children. They argue that the vaccinations are not safe and are not necessary because most of the diseases we mandate vaccines for are no longer prevalent. However, it is important that children be vaccinated to stop these diseases from reappearing. For example, polio has been eradicated in the United States due to our vaccination policy. It is still a required vaccine, but many feel that it is unnecessary since there have not been any reported cases in over 30 years. The issue with this is that people from other countries could bring the disease with them if they are traveling from an area of the world that still has outbreaks of polio. A similar issue happened with measles not long ago in California. It only took one person without the measles vaccine to spread the disease among many who were too young or too at risk to be vaccinated. In this case the government must step in to preserve the health and welfare of the general