By Doug Mainwaring | LifeSiteNews
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 19, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – President Trump has stated that a future coronavirus vaccine will be voluntary.
On Friday, the president introduced “Operation Warp Speed,” an ambitious Manhattan Project-style initiative to fast-track the development and distribution of a coronavirus vaccine by January 2021, tapping experts and resources in science, medicine, the military, and the private sector.
Experts have warned that the plan raises serious ethical and safety questions which are of grave importance not only to pro-life citizens, but to everyone.
However, President Trump did allay concerns about a mandatory vaccine on Friday, saying that the new vaccine would be for those “who want to get it,” adding, “Not everyone is going to want to get it.”
After he had previously introduced the idea of mobilizing the military to help deploy the new vaccine, some were concerned that this hinted that the drug would be forcibly administered. One website asked, “what will you do when they come to your door, and tell you it’s mandatory?”
Anxiety about possible medical strong-arming by the military easily piggy-backed on top of wide speculation that legislation introduced in Congress earlier this month, known as the TRACE Act – the “COVID-19 Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone Act” – would result in massive assaults by government agents against the constitutional rights of Americans.
Memes quickly cropped up on social media alleging that government officials could enter homes to forcibly test individuals and remove those who test positive – including children – and place them in government-sanctioned quarantine centers.
Heavy-handed measures put in place by many governors and mayors hoping to stem the spread of the coronavirus by instituting lockdowns and using police to arrest citizens who engage in what are normally benign daily activities have certainly given cause to Americans to be on high alert.
Apprehension about the possible curtailing of basic freedoms in response to the pandemic is well founded: Some cities have encouraged residents to snitch on their neighbors suspected of skirting lockdown orders. Citizens across the country have witnessed lone surfers and joggers, moms taking their kids to playgrounds, Christians sitting in their cars in church parking lots, and peaceful pro-life abortion protesters being ticketed or arrested and hauled off by police, despite practicing common sense physical distancing.
Regardless of the President’s assurances, the public remains gravely concerned. In just one week, nearly 440,000 people have signed a LifeSiteNews petition addressed to world leaders opposing a mandatory coronavirus vaccination.
And while none of the experts LifeSiteNews has spoken to in recent days have expressed concern about forced vaccinations for U.S. citizens, there is still cause for concern in some jurisdictions, such as Canada.
When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked by reporters April 28 whether a coronavirus would be mandatory, he said, “As to what sort of vaccination protocols will be in place, we still have a fair bit of time to reflect on that in order to get it right.”
