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Mandatory Vaccination Student’s Name Institution Course Number and Name Instructor’s Name Date Mandatory Vaccination One of the key contentious issues in the US and the world at large revolves around mandatory vaccinations. On one side are proponents of mandatory vaccination who argue that it is justified given the government's interest in protecting the needs of the many in a country. On the other hand, opponents argue against mandatory vaccination by emphasizing that it violates personal freedom to choose. Both sides of the debate make convincing arguments to justify their positions. The emergence of COVID-19 and governments’ plans for mass vaccinations rejuvenated the debate on whether or not vaccines should be compulsory. Vaccination should be mandatory in the United States because it is consistent with the Constitution and libertarianism and promotes the common good. The support of mandatory vaccination by the Constitution and court rulings justifies its implementation. According to Chemerinsky & Goodwin (2016), while there have been many challenges against compulsory vaccination, they have all been consistently rejected by courts. As the interpreter of the Constitution, courts have a key role in determining whether an action is legal or not. At the Supreme Court, challenges against compulsory laws by states have been rejected. In Jacobson v. Massachusetts and Zucht v. King, the Supreme Court upheld compulsory vaccination mandates (Chemerinsky & Goodwin, 2016). The religious freedom argument is often used to argue against compulsory vaccination but as informed by Chemerinsky & Goodwin (2016), it is invalid as courts have made a determination that one cannot use the Free Exercise Clause to "challenge a neutral law of general applicability" (p.609). Furthermore, Chemerinsky and Goodwin (2016) point out that mandatory vaccination laws are consistent with the strict scrutiny principle, implying that the government's interest in protecting all people is compelling. Therefore, constitutionally, mandatory vaccination laws should be allowed in the US. Mandatory vaccination is supported by one of the popular political philosophies, libertarianism. As informed by Brennan (2016), libertarianism contents that all people are self-owners, implying that individuals have almost an absolute right against interference. According to Brennan (2016), vaccine refusal violates the clean-hands principle that is supported by liber...