rights / responsibilities / public health

Thesis

When Edward Jenner invented vaccination, it forever altered the balance between individual liberty and the responsibility to protect the collective good. This change took place not only in England, but in other countries. In the United States, the 1901 Jacobson v. Massachusetts decision allowed the government to take legal action in the case of a direct threat to public health. However, this decision was also used to justify government policies which caused infringement on people's rights without the threat of a health crisis. This altered balance continues to this day.