Re C (Welfare of Child: Immunisation) – Room to Refuse? Immunisation, Welfare and the Role of Parental Decision Making

Abstract:     
Disputes between parents over routine childhood immunisation raise questions about the justiciability of minor issues of medical treatment and the courts’ handling of parental decisions. This commentary on the first instance and Court of Appeal judgments in Re C argues that the construction of welfare frequently deployed in such disputes is a narrow and individualistic one which privileges medical best interests and norms over a wider conception of welfare, and fails to take sufficient account of rights-based arguments.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 17

Keywords: family law, child law, immunisation, welfare, parental decision making

Accepted Paper Series