Floridians\u27 Right to Choose or Refuse Vaccinations

Every state must strike the right balance between an individual\u27s freedom to make medical choices and the state\u27s 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 from the rational basis test to a heightened level of scrutiny (strict scrutiny). In short, this article is about freedom to choose what medical treatments are put into your body or your children\u27s bodies. In the face of potential new vaccine mandates, understanding the scope of a person\u27s freedom to choose whether to take one or more COVID-19 vaccines, or any vaccine, is important both as a matter of individual liberty and privacy, and as an important public health concern