THE CONSTITUTIONAL Court decided that laws concerning the mandatory vaccination of children do not contradict the Constitution and parents can be fined for avoiding them, the TASR newswire wrote on December 10.
“We need to study the ruling of the Constitutional Court,” said Health Ministry spokesperson Martina Šoltésová, as quoted by the Plus Jeden Deň daily. “I can, however, say that we welcome such a decision.”
The CC plenum turned down the proposal of the Nitra Regional Court to deem some of the stipulations of the law on the protection and development of public health and the Health Ministry’s regulation on the prevention and control of infectious diseases as being at mutual variance.
The Nitra Regional Court turned to the Constitutional Court on June 17, 2013 due to a lawsuit by a complainant asking it to scrutinise the lawfulness of the ruling and the steps of the Slovak Public Health Office. She refused to let her child be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, viral hepatitis B and pneumococcal infection. The regional public health office therefore decided to fine her €100 and she appealed the decision, according to SITA.
Those vaccinations are obligatory and parents refusing to let their child be vaccinated face fines up to €331, according to TASR.
The Public Health Office confirmed the decision of the regional office, the case then went to the regional court, and the Nitra Regional Court asked the Constitutional Court to rule.
Parents who refuse to let their children be vaccinated risk them having health problems in the future, leading even to their death, according to paediatrician Alexandra Drgoňová.
“The benefits of vaccination are greater than possible side effects that could occur,” Drgoňová told the Plus jeden deň.
