Ethics prof turfed after 20 years because of vaccine refusal
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
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.