In 2000, the United States removed measles from the endemic disease pool category. Because so many people were immune to it due to vaccinations, measles did not infect enough people to continue to circulate through the American population.

In other words, as long as newborns kept receiving vaccines, measles was fated to disappear, and join the grave of smallpox. Other diseases experienced declines as well. The ever-present fear of illness and ultimately death that had terrorized human society appeared ready to become a concern of the past.

But there was a problem. As of around 2003, rumors against vaccination began circulating, such as that vaccines caused autism and a slew of other afflictions; that deadly quantities of mercury and other “toxins” hid in vaccines; that vaccines were an artificial construct, and natural exposures could better train a stronger immune system; and that vaccines are unnecessary since their target diseases had become the stuff of legend.

These concerns were brought to fruition when celebrities such as former Playboy model Jenny McCarthy publicly denounced vaccines as the cause of her son’s autism. Enough families gave credence to these thoughts that, over the past ~11 years, vaccination rates have decreased noticeably. These parents who choose not to immunize their children are known colloquially as the Anti-Vaccine Movement.

The ramifications of the movement are evident and impactful. Previously dormant lethal diseases have resurged. During the Spring of 2014, California experienced an outbreak of pertussis (whooping cough), which as of last June had 3,458 reported cases.

Additionally, at least 50 vacationers at Disneyland have contracted measles in the past two months. This hasn’t come without a body count: between June 3, 2007 and Feb. 7, 2015, the CDC has attributed at least 8,961 deaths to vaccine-preventable diseases and at least 146,046 illnesses.

Some anti-vaccine parents have decided to take their child’s inevitable contraction of measles not as a time for grievance, but celebration. They invite their friends to a “pox party”, where partygoers’ children can mingle with the diseased child in the hopes of contracting the illness.

The logic behind it is pretty sound. The point of a vaccine is to expose the child to the disease and thus build an immunity: Since you can’t have a vaccine, why not go the natural way, and get bona fide immunity?

In a similar vein, parents have organized communities on social networking sites where you can purchase lollipops covered in saliva for your child to lick. While I myself have not been able to find a vendor (they’re exactly like drugs: they are illegal to distribute and don’t seem obtainable unless you’re in the know) there are anecdotal accounts from once-anti-vaccine parents regarding their existence.

In all seriousness, these measles parties can and do lead to pediatric deaths. In addition, the imprecision of pox parties leads to children contacting more diseases and deadlier diseases, than intended, such as hepatitis A. The combination of multiple diseases simultaneously can overwhelm anyone’s immune system, especially children’s, far more than any natural conditions: or a vaccine: might render. While such parties were fashionable during the 19th century, when vaccines were scarce and there was an equitable risk of death from not going to a pox party, there is no reason to today choose a party over a vaccine. The risk of death from vaccines is infinitesimal compared to that of death by pox party. The CDC reports that about 0.00033% of MMR vaccinations result in febrile seizures, and less than 0.0000001% result in allergic reactions that can lead to brain damage. In other words, you are more likely to be struck by lightning (National Geographic reports a 1 in 3,000 chance to be struck in your lifetime, and 70% of strikes lead to permanent damage- or 0.000233%) than to receive complications from the MMR vaccine.

The worst part of this all is that unvaccinated children are powerless to prevent the spread of disease. While children can be educated not to bully, it is their parents who choose whether or not to vaccinate. If a child infects their friends, it is a preventable tragedy: but not one preventable by the child themself. There are many children who cannot receive vaccines for whatever reason, be it cancer, allergies or else. These children and their families are forced to live in constant fear that they may catch a preventable disease, and be unable to defend themselves.

However, if enough people vaccinate, the entire population will develop herd immunity: the state where enough people are immune that the disease cannot find enough carriers to spread. This way, we are able to give the benefits of vaccination to those medically unable to vaccinate. But herd immunity is a delicate equilibrium, and as it stands currently, there are not enough immunized to create the effect.

The most practical solution is to mandate vaccination. This is obviously not an original idea. Many have tried this before, but it is constantly shot down by people claiming that it restricts their rights.

And that’s true. It does oppress on your rights. But you should have no more right to spread disease than you have the right to drive drunk. Both acts can result in the death of innocents. While we as a society enjoy going on witch hunts after negligent drivers, a crusade on anti-vaxxers seems less exciting: deaths by disease are more difficult to vilify.

A similar situation can be seen in “peanut-free school” policies. If you aren’t allergic to peanut butter, you have probably been in a situation where your palate has been inhibited due to a “peanut-free zone.” Why? Because peanut products carelessly put the lives of peanut-allergic students at danger. That’s a perfectly reasonable and valid reason to ban peanut products. So why is it unreasonable to mandate vaccination? Non-vaccinated students also jeopardize human lives.

Despite the irrational seeming views of anti-vaccine parents, they truly only wish for their children’s safety. I can understand why they might believe it is better not to vaccinate, but their concern for their own families harms the families of others. When a preventable fear leads to preventable deaths, something needs to change.