Do we vaccinate our children? This is a question being asked in households all over the world, but sometimes parents can’t agree as was the case in Torremolinos in the south of Spain, and the case ended up in the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA), leaving a judge to decide.
This particular situation started in the summer after the Ministry Of Health gave the go-ahead for the inoculation of minors. When it was the turn of her age group, the girl in question is 15 years old, her divorced parents could not agree on whether or not she should be vaccinated against Covid-19. The mother wanted her to be inoculated, but her father preferred to wait a while.
On September 27th, the girl’s mother, assisted by a lawyer, urged a voluntary jurisdiction procedure in order to request a judge to authorize the vaccination of her daughter, since there was a disagreement regarding the parental authority, and the parents have joint custody.
The matter fell to the Court of First Instance number 4 of Torremolinos, and after examining the procedure the judge summoned the parents to testify on December 2nd in the presence of the prosecutor as well.
According to the courts' press release, the father explained that he felt it was too early to vaccinate his daughter because, in his opinion, there was still not enough information about the side effects of the vaccines.
The man assured that he is not a denier of the pandemic or Covid-19, but clarified that he preferred to wait to know the evolution of the vaccines in children. When the judge asked him how long he wanted to wait, he said four or five months at least.
However, the mother argued that she understood that her daughter should be vaccinated for her own health, for social responsibility, to achieve herd immunity, and for the possible problems she could have at school or in school activities for not having been inoculated.
In addition, there is the circumstance that the mother has been under treatment for a serious illness and is immune suppressed, so a contagion of coronavirus could lead to serious complications in her state of health.
After listening to both parties, and also consulting with Public Health, the judge concluded that there is no reason not to vaccinate the minor and stressed that in that decision he had taken into account the mother's illness and the adolescent's opinion, who said that she is "totally determined to be vaccinated." When asked about the reason for that decision, the teenager declared that she had not made it influenced by anyone, but by her own criteria and will.
Regarding the specific request of the father, the magistrate concludes that there are no data to believe that waiting a few months can serve to "clear up current doubts", while, on the contrary, "it would mean that the minor remain defenceless against possible contagion or infects third parties, so it is appropriate to attribute the power to decide, in this case, to the mother."
The judge said that he was going to issue his decision in writing, but announced in voce that he authorized the inoculation of the minor. However, the decision became final on the spot, since the father said he did not intend to appeal and that they could make an appointment.
