by Wynne Corben Medical authorities consistently assert that vaccination has been, and continues to be, responsible for saving millions of lives, and that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh any risks from the procedure. Further, they claim the risks posed by the procedure are predictable, well documented, and usually minor and of short duration – serious, long-term side effects are so rare as to be almost irrelevant. Predicated on these reassurances – that the risks are predictable and negligible – well-meaning parents are more than willing to consent to vaccination on behalf of their children. Consent is relegated to a simple administrative process – the attitude of nurses and doctors cavalier. The gravity of consenting to a medical procedure to be performed on a healthy person, as opposed to a sick or injured one, whilst a necessary distinction, is one that is routinely ignored in this consent process.