The very conservative governor of Texas has issued an executive order requiring sixth grade girls in the state to get vaccinated for the human papillomavirus, with its obvious and scientifically proven links to cervical cancer.
Of course, Gov. Rick Perry's religious conservative base is not having any of it, claiming the order doesn't allow enough room for parents to object or have a say in their children's medical treatment, adopting not only the "sexual license" arguments but taking the anti-corporate one when it suits them -- Merck's funding of such orders and bills in state legislatures is well known; Perry's former chief of staff is now a Merck lobbyist.
The cognitive dissonance required to wrap heads around this is stunning -- while I don't like the idea of Merck forcing the vaccine down people's throats, the fact that this vaccine could prevent cervical cancer likely outweighs concerns about Merck's profits or ramrodding through state houses and legislatures. Eventually, you have to wonder whether the people opposing this are more comfortable with the potential of dying due to a preventable disease rather than the thought of premarital sex.
Monday, February 05, 2007
a needle will turn you into a slut.
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6 comments:
Idiocy. It prevents ONE thing. Not pregnancy. Not any other STDs. Just one thing. I don't think teenagers thinking of having sex are concerned and wondering, "Wait--do I really want to get the human papillomavirus? Is that really worth this moment of fun?"
I don't get why people wouldn't want a vaccine that could prevent their daughters and other loved ones from getting a deadly disease, but I guess anything is possible.
Don't you know? Science is evil, and unnecessary if you just commit your soul to Jesus.
Really, what's more effective against disease? A vaccine or 20 Hail Maries?
I can't say anything bad about HPV. The commercial campaign designed to increase awareness of the disease - "A cancer caused by a virus? I didn't know that." - have brought me too much amusement.
Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. No matter how easy something should be, no matter how little common sense is required to wrap one's mind around an issue, there will always be those people who argue for the sake of arguing and pass it off as "belief".
I wonder if a single teenager will say, "Well, hell! I can't get the human papillomavirus! There are no other negative repercussions from all sorts of crazy sex, so I think I'll just go ahead with it!"
Heaven forbid women are afforded an accessible way to prevent disease and cancer. One has to wonder if men could be harmed by cervical cancer, would there be any issues raised from the church? We wouldn't want to give the harlot women any more leeway to be promiscious than they're already been born with.
steagles - if there was a risk of men getting cancer from HPV, the vaccine would have been rushed and mandated for everyone years ago.
Kind of like if men got pregnant, no one would picket abortion clinics and birth control would always be covered by every insurance provider.
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