Cervical Cancer Shot May Be Standard In 6th Grade

The Indy Channel ^ | September 12, 2006 | AP

[Abathar]

A bipartisan group of Michigan lawmakers wants all sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against cervical cancer.

A Republican state senator who is the lead sponsor said it's the first legislation of its kind in the U.S.

The vaccine was approved by federal regulators this summer and hailed as a breakthrough in cancer prevention. The shots prevent infections from strains of a sexually transmitted virus -- human papilloma virus, or HPV -- that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts.

At the time, conservatives expressed concern that schools would require the vaccine for enrollment. They argue that such mandates infringe on parents' rights and send a message that underage sex is OK.

If approved, the measure would go into effect for the next school year.

The vaccine was approved for females between ages 9 and 26. In studies, it was credited with preventing disease from the two types of HPV that are responsible for approximately 70 percent of all cervical cancers, according to Detroit television station WDIV.

The legislator who proposed the requirement noted that, as with all other school-required vaccines, parents may opt out of this requirement for medical, religious or philosophical reasons.

[goldstategop]

Its all for the children. Seriously, will they mandate shots to protect female children against ovarian cancer? Prevention is worth a pound of cure. Not that I'm against vaccination; I'm all for it - I just think that why stop there? Our children's health requires a full range of medical services. Before too long, we'll wind up with Hillary Care Lite - Or Deluxe - depending on who's looking.

(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )

[spatso]

"How on earth do you think I am trivializing anything? There is a huge push by moral relativists [sic] of various stripes promoting homosexual sex as normal and natural, lowering the age of consent, academics and psychologists promoting "inter-generational" sex, etc. This is not trivial. My question was legitimate, and you didn't answer it."

You trivialize the sacred by flooding our senses with a language that contains an implicit message that American culture has become decadent in its sexual permissiveness and its deviant behavior. Your language trivializes complex issues in our modern and free society in much the same way as Islam tends to judge and condemn us.

You offer no recognition or hope to the majority of parents who try and provide their kids with a meaningful model for appropriate sexual behavior. I for one choose to believe our world is not nearly as ugly as you would paint it. I further believe your language is like a pornographic noise constantly saying all is lost and encouraging people to accept their hopelessness.

[freepatriot32]

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

[CSM]

"Don't forget, promiscuity has been a largely male domain."

You got that right! Women aren't involved in that domain one bit!

[spatso]

"You got that right! Women aren't involved in that domain one bit!"

I think the point being made was the idea that even where a woman was monogamous she remained at high risk if her partner was not.

[CSM]

Still, it takes two to tango.

[spatso]

"Still, it takes two to tango."

Your still missing the point. Over a life time several guys may have danced with several girls. Years later, each of the males in the chain may infect their monogamous partners. Indeed, it may be that both were entirely faithful and monogamous with each other from the first day they met. This is the central point, it is not about bad people. In this context, Michigan proposes that a vaccine should be made available to grade six girls. It is not a question of fault but of consequences. In the present situation the risk and consequences for young girls is infinitely greater than for boys.

[little jeremiah]

You have not answered one of my questions.

You compare my comments to pornography.

I think you are just out of your mind.

In your world, if someone is about to walk off a cliff, and another person yells "Hey! Watch out! Be careful, you're about to walk off the cliff!" The one warning is dangerous, not the cliff.

[metmom]

You trivialize the sacred by flooding our senses with a language that contains an implicit message that American culture has become decadent in its sexual permissiveness and its deviant behavior.

Not at all. America HAS become decadent in it's permissiveness and deviant behavior. Calling wrong what God has deemed wrong is not trivializing the sacred, on the contrary, it's keeping it sacred.

I don't think lj is saying at all that sex and sexual desires are wrong in and of themselves, but it's the misuse and abuse of them; the same thing God condemns when HE says it's wrong.

Telling people what God says does not profane the sacred.

[spatso]

"In your world, if someone is about to walk off a cliff, and another person yells "Hey! Watch out! Be careful, you're about to walk off the cliff!" The one warning is dangerous, not the cliff."

I don't think so. A more effective analogy would be your sitting in the middle of a packed theater and yelling fire. Did you read the lead article on this thread? It is about parents having to consider the possibility of vaccinating their twelve year old dollars against HPV. HPV is the primary cause of cervical cancer. This issue is primarily about health. It astounds me the number of people who want to make this about God's punishment of promiscuity. What purpose does that agenda serve?

[spatso]

"Not at all. America HAS become decadent in it's permissiveness and deviant behavior. Calling wrong what God has deemed wrong is not trivializing the sacred, on the contrary, it's keeping it sacred."

Of course there are vile people. But to say "America HAS become decadent in its permissiveness and deviant behavior," merely parrots what Islamic extremism says about our values. I choose to believe there is more good than evil in our society.

[little jeremiah]

You are attributing words and viewpoints to me (and others) that were never stated.

You also refuse to answer any of my very clear and reasonable questions.

My analogy of the cliff was in regards to the extreme hedonist sexual behaviors that are being promoted as normal and natural and benign, as mentioned above. Resulting in one third of all children in the US being born out of wedlock, divorce, adultery, skyrocketing rates of STDs, radical homosexual agenda driven attacks on marriage and indoctrination of children in schools, sex ed that basically sexualizes kids, and so on.

You have not addressed any of my points whatsoever.

Promiscuity resulting in disease and misery is not rocket science and certainly not some kind of cruel divine intervention. Ever heard of the laws of nature?

[little jeremiah]

Okay, let's make this really, really simple.

What is your opinion about the fact that one third of all births in the US are currently to women who are not married to the father of the child?

Is this a good thing, a bad thing, or meaningless?

[spatso]

"What is your opinion about the fact that one third of all births in the US are currently to women who are not married to the father of the child?"

Tragic, it carries enormous consequences for families as well as for the economic and service demands placed on the local, state and federal governments. Although the consequences of this phenomena are really tragic, I refuse to label the kids, the mothers or even the fathers as bad. And, I especially despair at notions suggesting that they are deserving of God's punishment.

[metmom]

There's a big difference between labeling people as *bad* and behavior as *bad*. Yes, some people who do this sort of stuff are bad; and the rest are very mixed up and making poor decisions for a wide variety of reasons. But in either case, the BEHAVIOR is bad. Violating God's laws which are designed to protect us is a bad thing to do, not only because it's sin, which is what God calls it, but because of the really rotten consequences that follow it.

[little jeremiah]

So one third of all births being illegitimate (no daddy around) is a phenomena.

It's caused by human will, human choices, and human error. And the results are indeed very bad. If the humans involved made different choices (ie: kept their legs closed/pants zipped until marriage) there would be far fewer daddyless kids.

Behavior can be "bad" or "good" and can be changed. Humans have God given reasoning ability and should use it more often.

[spatso]

"Violating God's laws which are designed to protect us is a bad thing to do, not only because it's sin, which is what God calls it, but because of the really rotten consequences that follow it."

When we label and marginalize groups of people such as single mothers and their kids as merely the manifestation of bad behavior, we set in place the condition of possibility that they will live their lives limited in the expectation that they can only be what they are called.

[spatso]

"It's caused by human will, human choices, and human error. And the results are indeed very bad. If the humans involved made different choices (ie: kept their legs closed/pants zipped until marriage) there would be far fewer daddyless kids."

Do you never worry about the people that you may hurt by your finger pointing? Aquinas taught that if you show a person good they will come to know and live good. On the other hand, a person that is never shown good will come to know and live evil. Do you not think we are called to show the good to all our fellows, especially those who are suffering?

[CDHart]

"as with all other school-required vaccines, parents may opt out of this requirement for medical, religious or philosophical reasons."

It's not a requirement, not yet anyway.

Carolyn