Posted on 02/02/2007 1:28:44 PM PST by YCTHouston
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry ordered today that schoolgirls in Texas must be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, making Texas the first state to require the shots.
The girls will have to get Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer.
Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass laws in state legislatures across the country mandating it Gardasil vaccine for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.
Details of the order were not immediately available, but the governor's office confirmed to The Associated Press that he was signing the order and he would comment Friday afternoon.
Perry has several ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, his former chief of staff. His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.
Toomey was expected to be able to woo conservative legislators concerned about the requirement stepping on parent's rights and about signaling tacit approval of sexual activity to young girls. Delisi, as head of the House public health committee, which likely would have considered legislation filed by a Democratic member, also would have helped ease conservative opposition.
Perry also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.
It wasn't immediately clear how long the order would last and whether the legislation was still necessary. However it could have been difficult to muster support from lawmakers who champion abstinence education and parents' rights.
Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion rights and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base.
But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different than the one that protects children against polio.
"If there are diseases in our society that are going to cost us large amounts of money, it just makes good economic sense, not to mention the health and well being of these individuals to have those vaccines available," he said.
Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit stating that he or she objected to the vaccine for religious or philosophical reasons.
Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say mandates take away parents' rights to be the primary medical decision maker for their children.
The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.
The New Jersey-based drug company could generate billions in sales if Gardasil — at $360 for the three-shot regimen — were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects.
Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore would not say how much the company is spending on lobbyists or how much it has donated to Women in Government. Susan Crosby, the group's president, also declined to specify how much the drug company gave.
A top official from Merck's vaccine division sits on Women in Government's business council, and many of the bills around the country have been introduced by members of Women in Government.
If this follows the track of other "opt outs", you will end up being charged with child endangerment if you do.
"If this follows the track of other "opt outs", you will end up being charged with child endangerment if you do. "
Worth repeating.
How many women get cervical cancer? How many have HPV? What are the death rates?
What are the death rates from the flu every year? How many man hours and how much does that cost? If public health was the real concern behind this, why is it with something that has a much smaller impact than the flu?
Think. This is not about public health.
"The payoff comes after they leave public office..."
I know, I know. Before, during and after. And the Republicans wonder why conservatives are becoming increasingly alienated from them. When they're so blatantly, boldly, in-your-face corrupt, it's hard not to throw up your hands in despair.
The Dems used to be the ones who justified all sorts of egregious legislation with the "it's for the chilldrunn" mantra.
Yes, please have everyone peruse my posting history. I welcome it, and I'd like to know how many agree with you that I'm a liberal.
This thread is overrun with "conservatives" like you, and I'm not getting much interesting exchange of ideas, just an exchange of insults, so you can have it.
Perry sucks. He's a nazi. vote 3rd party. more disease.
Whatever, I've lost interest.
Which is my point. This is not a public health issue. There are many more costly and deadly diseases out there that no one is calling for a mandatory vaccine for.
I was threatened with social services over a comment I made once about opting out of vaccines with one of my kids. It was my right but that didn't matter to them. So much for my freedom. I changed doctors pretty quickly after that.
Which one is there an available vaccine for that is being neglected?
"If there was an inoculation against prostate cancer, I'm sure it'd be mandatory, too - would you be complaining that the girls didn't have to get that vaccination?"
There's no money spent on research for men's problems, only womens.
yeah, he did at that.
Yeah, the whole argument of "you can just opt out" must be being made by people who have never taken a kid to a pediatrician at immunization time.
Obviously.
Has it been thoroughly tested? Where is the evidence for this? (I'm not saying it hasn't been, but I haven't seen such.) They don't even know if the vaccine is effective after seven years.
Huh?
No use wasting time telling Perry something he already durn well knows. And he doesn't give a flip what you or I think.
I honestly believe that Perry's VP chances crashed when he couldn't even win a majority of the vote against three dingbat candidates last fall. GOP can't very well chance losing Texas in 2008, and there's a tremendous amount of grass-roots ire toward Perry on a number of issues. Not exactly a favorite son.
My partisanship is for the prolife side: I just see the abortionists and abstinence-plus women and men that I run up against in Austin cussin' a blue streak because a Republican Governor did this.
I can just see him saying, "We're not going to hear this all Spring!"
Now, we can get down to banning State funds for unethical stem cell research.
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