Is government going too far?

Today it was brought to my attention that the legislature of Pennsylvania has been working on a bill that includes a provision for compulsory vaccination if a public health emergency is declared. This is covered in PA House Bill 0492 "Emergency Health Powers and Procedures". Interestingly, I also found out yesterday that Belgium passed a similar law concerning health emergencies [link in Flemish], and that law included a specific amendment against mandatory vaccination. Quite a contrast...

Now, I am all for provisions that ensure that government bodies can fulfil their duty to "the people", but I do take issue with compulsory vaccination, especially when (at least in the US - probably most everywhere now) you are usually asked to sign a consent form that explains that vaccination can have (possibly harmful) side-effects, etc... Our oldest son, Daniel, has shown rather unusual reactions to various things (like a skin T test), yet doctors cannot really say why he reacts different from pretty much much any other patients. Still, no doctor is willing to state that it might perhaps be unsafe for him to receive vaccinations because that is only done for "known" cases. Somehow, that does not make me feel very confident...

There is also the concern that e.g. the H1N1 vaccination has been rushed through the certification process in order to get it ready for use in large quantities. Some doctors advise against it, while others openly criticize patients for questioning it. Either way, it seems prudent that patients should have the right to decide for themselves whether they want to be vaccinated. It also seems reasonable that, in the face of a true health emergency, a request for quarantine could be made to people who are not vaccinated. What is not reasonable to me is that on top of mandatory quarantine (if one refuses to be vaccinated), the government can/will also charge you with a misdemeanor of the 3rd degree. That is going too far...

I sincerely hope that this house bill will be amended with the removal of the compulsory vaccination provision. I do not argue against people who choose to be vaccinated, because that is their personal choice. I respect people's choices, and I hope that my right to choose will remain untouched.