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Show Wednesday, September 2, 2009 •: HE SIGNPOST EDITORIAL Signpost Viewpoint Vaccinate for a greater good: listen to doctors and not rumors In the United States this year, 131 measles cases from 15 states have been reported, being the highest year-to-date number since 1996. More than 90 percent of those infected had not been vaccinated, many of these individuals being children whose parents chose not to have them vaccinated. Fifteen of the patients, including four infants, were hospitalized. In the good old days there were 400,000 cases a year in the U.S. with 400 deaths, and to this day there are 25 to 30 million children infected each year in the world, with this virus killing 345,000 people. In 2000, the disease seemed eliminated in the U.S., but vaccinations remain a regular healthcare process for infants. This disease'is totally preventable; it's as easy as getting the vaccination, yet some parents are choosing not, to based on the unproven theory that the vaccine causes autism. Parents who do not get their children vaccinated are simply relying on the surrounding population's immunity, but sometimes that fails, leading to outbreaks of what should be non-existant diseases. Recently, more parents have been worried about getting their children vaccinated. While being worried about your child's fear of needles is legitimate, that doesnot excuse avoiding vaccinations altogether. There have been many claims that a mercury-based preservative, Thimerosal, is responsible for causing many different autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Recent estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring network found that about 1 in 150 children have an ASD, This estimate is higher than estimates from the early 1990s. Some\people^believe increased exposure to Thimerosal (from the addition of new- vaccines recommended for children) explains the higher prevalence in recent years. However, evidence from several studies examiningtrends in vaccine use and changes in autism frequency does not support such an association. Autism. rates keep rising. People keep blaming vaccines. Neither Thimerosal nor vaccines are responsible for the rise in autism; screening tests for ASD have simply become more accurate, and more frequent in the clinical setting. Having mercury in a vaccine was a bad idea to begin with, but as of 2001, Thimerosal in quantities sufficient to act as a preservative was removed from all vaccines in the childhood immunization schedule in the United States except some influenza vaccines, which were introduced during the manufacturing process to ensure sterility, but at present the amounts are so small that exposure is inconsequential. Parents need to be educated. Not getting children vaccinated not only puts the child's life at risk, but the entire surroundin^community. Vaccines are important because they add to our overall; immunity as a country; the fewer people vaccinated, the higher the^ejiance of severe disease in this country. International travel has catalysed the resurgence of these preventable diseases; travelers who are immune come in contact with a disease, carry it home with them and pass it on to somebody who is not protected by a vaccine. If these diseases keep having resurgence, it is possible that they could be allowed to mutate in one of these unvaccinated communities, thus putting the whole community at risk. Not getting your children immunized is not only irresponsible, but selfish. Relying on the immunity of others to protect you or your child is parasitic, not to mention dangerous. In this case the symptoms of the disease are greater than the symptoms of a vaccine. ; Comment on this column at wsusignpost.com. NEWS Hm- DGNEY MARG.G3MIGS A bit of common sense Montana thinks of death as a "right" Gina Barker • Signpost columnist Today is the day Montana's Supreme Court will rule on an assisted-suicide case. Hot button to say the least. While two other states (Washington and Oregon) have put the issue to a vote, allowing assisted suicides because of popular vote, Montana will be the first to determine the legality of assisted suicide in a court of law. Why is this a big difference to the other two states? This court case's outcome could easily affect the federal level. The Supreme Court (America's, not Montanas) often uses cases already decided on to help determine their own ruling. So today, the Montana Supreme Court will determine whether the right to die is a right. I've avoided this topic till now because the whole pro-life vs. prochoice argument scares me a bit. But let's see if I can make an argument that won't dig me into a hole so deep it reaches to China. Big breath! And exhale... I support the right-to-die movement, the right for the patient in a terminally ill state to choose death with dignity. This goes back to the strong morals influenced mainly by religious beliefs in America. And those who don't support gay marriage, abortion, whatever topic, need to realize that religion cannot influence another person's life. It's just Wrong. Imagine a world where the predominant religion required all expecting mothers to discuss abortion as an option with their doctors before giving birth, or straight couples to go through extra screening to test the home's stability in comparison to gay couples, or force families to remove the feeding tube of a loved one without their consent. This is what the group on the other side of the fence (a.k.a. pro-choice, right-to-die, pro-gay marriage) feels like when someone else's moral code, guided by religion a majority of the time, is used to determine what they can and cannot do. The argument that "my opinion isright!"simply doesn't cut it, not in America. We can do better than that. With the Montana case, a man named Robert Baxter, age 76, was diagnosed with terminal lymphocytic leukemia. But because assisted suicide is illegal in Montana^ he suffered .until his last breath. In yesterday's New York Times, his daughter was quoted. '"He yearned for death,' his daughter, Roberta King, said in a court affidavit describing her father's final agonized months." The court case brings up Baxter's story, claiming the doctor denied Baxter's right to choose death. And here's the real kicker about this story. Both lawyers on both sides of the case think the passage of Baxter's claim of the right to die • will be passed. The expectation is that Montana's Supreme Court will agree with Baxter, that assisted suicide is a right. Now to the big point: do any of us have the right to determine the time and manner in which we die? Well, we already know where I stand, but how about why? I think about these incredibly debilitating diseases, that drag death out by months and months, and put the patient through a tremendous amount more suffering. Maybe society just can't deal with the idea of someone accepting death. Let's face facts: death is scary. But how can a perfectly healthy person who believes themselves to be fighting for the "higher cause" tell a person that is dying they know better about death? How? I would never forgive the person that tried to stop me from maintaining dignity in my death. Alzheimer's is a brutal disease that robs people of more than their memories; it robs them of their humanity. The shell of a person left in the last months of the disease is nothing of the person who was there. They are gone, but instead of going peacefully, in a way that would allow you to preserve your memories, you are forced to see it through to the end, with bodily functions less complicated than a day-old infant. I know if it were my choice, I would choose a death that preserved my memory. Not one that would let my family watch me regress. Death is a personal choice. Dying is a personal moment. And like all moments that affect the individual, that decision belongs to the individual. Comment on this column at wsusignpost.com. WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY ON TH€ UCi Editor-in-chief Managing Editor News Editor Sports Editor % Photo Editor Features Editor A&E Editor Adviser- - r Ad Manager Office Manager Should the current CIA be held 626-7121 626-7614 accountable for torture policies executed under the Bush administration? Cimaron Neugebauer 626-7655 ies 626-7983 Bryan Butterfield 626-6358 ShayLynne Clark 626-7621 Jonah Napoli 626-7105 Allison Hess 626-8526 Shelley Hart 626-6359 Georgia Edwards 626-7974 Frances Kelsey Gina Barker •The Signpost is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during fall and spring semesters. Subscription is $18 a semester. First newspaper copy free each additional copy $0.50. -The Signpost is a student publication, written, edited, and drafted by Weber State University students. Student fees fund the printing of this publication. Opinions or positions voiced arc not necessarily endorsed by the university. The Signpost welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include name, address, telephone number, relationship to staff, and the writer's signature. •The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and also reserves the right to refuse to print any letter. Letters shonld not exceed 350 words. Bring letters to the editorial office in the Student Union 401, or mail to: The Signpost, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah 84408-2110. ArtaFrances Kelsey. E-mail thesignpost@weber.edu Sources http://www,wsusianpost,cdm |