A British judge has ruled that two young girls should be given the controversial measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination, against the wishes of their mothers.
A British judge has ruled that two young girls should be given the controversial measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination, against the wishes of their mothers.
In a landmark decision involving two sets of parents, Judge Christopher Sumner followed the wishes of the fathers who wanted their daughters to be vaccinated.
The judge refused permission to take the case to the Court of Appeal but it wasunderstood the mothers will apply there directly. One of the mothers was never immunised herself and said she came to no harm and did not believe her daughter would come to harm. She said it was wrong to impose immunisation on her.
For the other mother, immunisation represents what she said was the "totalrejection" of her holistic approach to life. She also claimed that the court application by the father was motivated solelyby a wish to control her by using the legal system.
The MMR jab has been clouded in controversy since a medical study published in 1998 raised fears about the safety of the triple vaccine and about a link to autism or bowel disease. But an independent review of medical research into the vaccine found no evidence of a link and the British government insists it is safe.
Judge Sumner said the benefits of vaccinating the girls, aged four and 10 years old, outweighed the potential risks. "I am persuaded by the evidence that immunisation is in these girls' best interests," he said.
Health officials in several countries have warned that refusal to have the combined MMR jab could lead to a resurgence in measles, a highly contagious illness that can cause pneumonia, brain damage, dementia and death.
The MMR jab is usually given to children when they are 18 months to two years old. It has been used in Britain since 1988 and in the United States for the past 30 years. More than 200 million doses of the MMR vaccine have been given worldwide.
Agencies