Ethics prof turfed after 20 years because of vaccine refusal
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124.76523
Summary
In the spirit of Socrates, who was executed for asking questions, this lesson will consist of only one question: Is it right or wrong to force someone to take a vaccine as a condition of their employment, or not?
Transcript
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My name is Julie Panessi and this message is about mandatory vaccinations.
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I am a professor of ethics at Huron College at the University of Western Ontario. It's one of
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the largest universities in Canada. Today I'm going to teach you a short lesson on the universally
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accepted ethics of coercing people into medical procedures. I'll be the example.
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My employer has just mandated that I must get a vaccine for COVID-19. If I want to keep working
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at my job as a professor, I have to take this vaccine. Here's my conundrum. My school employs me
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to be an authority on the subject of ethics. I hold a PhD in ethics and ancient philosophy.
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And I'm here to tell you it's ethically wrong to coerce someone to take a vaccine. If it happens
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to you, you don't have to do it. If you don't want a COVID vaccine, don't take one. End of discussion.
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It's your own business. But that is not the approach of the University of Western Ontario,
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which has suddenly required that I be vaccinated immediately or not report for work.
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So with the school year beginning in a few days, I am facing imminent dismissal after 20 years on the job.
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I will not submit to having an experimental vaccine injected into my body. I've had plenty of vaccines
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in my life, but I've never been forced to take one. It's always been my choice. I don't work in a high
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risk environment. I'm not a doctor in an emergency room. I'm a teacher. I'm a university professor.
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My job is to teach students how to think critically. To ask questions that might expose a false argument.
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Questions like, says who? Who is the authority giving this order? Should I trust them with control over my body?
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As a professor, I don't have to watch the news to find out if the COVID vaccines are safe.
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I read medical journals and I consult my colleagues who are professors of science and medicine.
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I've learned from doctors that there are serious questions about how safe these vaccines really are.
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There are questions about how well they work. Nobody's promising that I won't get COVID
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or transmit COVID if I get the vaccine. But ultimately, none of that matters to me.
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Because I'm a professor of ethics, and I'm a Canadian. I'm entitled to make choices about what does and
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does not enter my body, regardless of my reasons. If I'm allowed back into my university, it's my job
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to teach my students that this is wrong. I'm hired to teach them that it is ethically wrong to impose an
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experimental medical procedure as a condition of employment. This is my first and potentially my last
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lesson of the year. Ethics 101. In the spirit of Socrates, who was executed for asking questions,
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this lesson will consist of only one question. The answer is multiple choice. Please listen carefully.
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When a person has done the same job to the satisfaction of her employer for 20 years,
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is it right or is it wrong to suddenly demand that they submit to an unnecessary medical procedure in
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order to keep their job? In this case, the procedure is an injection of a substance that has not been
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fully tested for safety. It has not yet been shown to be effective. It is designed to prevent an illness
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that poses little threat to the employee. The employee is not allowed to ask questions. She may only submit
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to the procedure or be fired. To my first year students, is this right or is this wrong? I already know the answer.