Everyday Ethics: Do I Discontinue Services for Unvaccinated Clients?

Question: I’m a private-practice, ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist who is three months pregnant. I have been treating a child in her home, but I want to discontinue services to the child because no one in the family has been vaccinated for the measles. Can I do so or would it be considered client abandonment? More than 1,150 measles cases occurred in more than 30 states in the U.S. in 2019, and most of those cases involved unvaccinated people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Measles is highly contagious and there is no cure. Measles in pregnant women may have serious consequences, including low-birth weight and miscarriage, reports the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Your query triggers several ethical considerations. As always, the welfare of your client is paramount. However, the ethical analysis in this situation doesn’t stop there. Could it be considered client abandonment? First and foremost, as a CCC-SLP you must abide by the ASHA Code of Ethics. Accordingly, you have an ethical obligation not to abandon a client; but this obligation isn’t absolute. ASHA’s Issues in Ethics statement on client abandonment states, “no clinician is ever ethically required to work . . . in physical danger in order to offer client care.” The likelihood of you being exposed to measles while pregnant and providing services to an unvaccinated child in her home appears to pose such a “physical danger,” ...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Audiology Health Care Private Practice Slider Speech-Language Pathology Early Intervention Professional Development Source Type: blogs