What should have been an intelligent discussion that weighed the potential risks versus the potential benefits of vaccination — and highlighted the very real need for more research into their safety — turned into an over-heated, often irrational  argument.

Parents who dared to speak out in favor of vaccine choice were oftentimes attacked for their position, with some mandatory vaccination supporters going so far as to call for parents of unvaccinated children to be fined and imprisoned.

What we're seeing is the result of heightened emotions based on fear. Fear of children getting sick and dying from either the complications of infectious disease or the complications of vaccination.

None of these fears are unfounded; each deserves due attention, including the attention of public health officials, who should be conducting the kind of scientific research that will yield answers to questions about vaccination thatmost doctors giving federally recommended vaccines to children and adults cannot answer.