1905 Supreme Court case did NOT allow for forced vaccination against smallpox
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1905 Supreme Court case did NOT allow for forced vaccination against smallpox
<div>I learned something new today regarding the oft-cited Jacobson vs. Massachusetts Supreme Court case that supposedly upheld forced vaccination for smallpox. I was under the impression the Supreme Court ruled Jacobson HAD to be vaccinated. From what I read, AND I AM NOT A LAWYER, that is not the case. “When the guy, Spencer, came to Jacobson to try and get him to take the vaccine, Jacobson refused it. Spencer then did what the law allowed him to do: He fined Jacobson $5 (about $153 today).
Instead of paying the fine, Jacobson and a handful of other vaccine refusers appealed to a higher court, where they caught the attention and support of anti-vaccination societies. Those societies provided Jacobson with powerful attorneys, who argued the case all the way to the Supreme Court.”</div>
I was under the impression it was about forcing this guy to take the smallpox vaccination when all it really was about was that he refused to pay the fine for refusing the vaccine- THAT’S A HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!
While the high court in Massachusetts had ruled in favor of the board of health, it also made clear that “it is not in their power to vaccinate [Jacobson] by force.” The Supreme Court didn’t contradict this, and in fact, placed more safeguards, saying “common good” laws had to be reasonable. That’s important, because “virus squads” weren’t limited to Boston; immigrants in tenements were also forcibly vaccinated in New York City, as were Black Americans in Kentucky.
Again, I am not a lawyer so I don’t know the ins and out of the law, but here is a link for further reading:
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