Do parents "own" their children?

Question

I was listening to a radio discussion about vaccinating children on our national broadcaster. A doctor said that he considered vaccination to be effective and important in preventing measles epidemics but that parents should be able to choose whether or not to have their children vaccinated because they "owned" their children. So he thought property rights should trump public health, not because the parents objected to vaccination but because their property rights ie ownership of their children should be honored.

I nearly fell off my chair when i heard him use that word "owned". But maybe lots of parents feel that way but few would be so blatant as this doctor was in saying it. Maybe those aged parents treat their caregiver children so badly because they regard them as property and no longer have the brain cells to be subtle about it.

What do you think?

jeannegibbs · Accepted Answer

Wives were also once considered chattel.

JessieBelle · Answer

It's been illegal to own another person in the US since the mid-1800s. They are guardians of them with legal rights to direct what happens to them. Many parents don't want their children to be vaccinated because of things they've read about vaccinations. Others don't want their children to get medicines of any type due to religious beliefs. It is always a problem when government says they have to and parents say no. But ownership doesn't come into it.

Heart2Heart · Answer

Yes, I think there's a lot of truth to it (that parents feel they 'own' their children/property).  I could never understand this kind of mentality.  It's so unhealthy in so many ways.

Do parents "own" their children?

3 Comments

Recent Questions

Popular Questions

Related Questions

Ask a Question