Physicians play an important role in educating parents about the social and medical consequences of refusing to have their children immunized.

The DSM-5 Task Force’s handling of the ethical controversy over the bereavement exclusion demonstrates the need for more inclusive deliberative processes.

The arguments for mandatory vaccination with human papillomavirus vaccine differs from the justification for mandatory use of vaccines that protect against more easily transmitted diseases.

Personal exemptions from mandatory vaccination requirements ensure peaceful coexistence between personal autonomy and social responsibility.

Cervical cancer has become rare in high-income countries but is a leading cause of mortality among women in low- and middle-income countries. This inequity is an epidemiological tragedy.

Lobbying, maintaining diagnostic skill, participating in national societies, and contributing to robust discourse can influence practice and policy.

Since 1995, the American Academy of Neurology has provided guidelines for brain death determination, but nationwide adherence to these guidelines has been incomplete.

Criteria in statutes and tests used to diagnose brain death don’t always jibe, and this can undermine public trust in death pronouncements.

Pediatricians have been forced to navigate diagnostic uncertainty, hospital closures, limited staffing, and new infection control guidelines.