Doctor refusing to see my child if I don’t get her vaccinated.
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Doctor refusing to see my child if I don’t get her vaccinated.
I took my daughter in for her 1 month well check up and her doctor was pressuring me into getting her vaccinated. I have an older child that I believe was injured by a vaccine, but no doctor will believe me even though he was a normal child before getting the MMR shot. I told the doctor that I don’t want her to have any vaccines until at least 6 months and that I don’t want her to get the MMR vaccine. She told me that if I refused the vaccines that she would no longer treat my daughter and that I shouldn’t refuse because it will be very hard to find another doctor. Is this legal? I feel like she was trying to bully me into the vaccinations. We live in a small town and this is the only doctor’s office in our area. We homeschool.
Asked on August 17, 2018 under Malpractice Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
No doctor has a legal or professional obligation to see any particular patient, especially if the patient (or her parents, for a minor) is doing something which the doctor believes is hazardous to that patient (a doctor does not need to condone what he or she consideres unhealthy or irresponsible behavior) or to other patients (e.g. if there are any children patients too young to be vacinated, whom the doctor does not want to expose to your child). You cannot force the doctor to see if the doctor will not without vaccination; you can either vaccinate or find another doctor.
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