Posted on 06/19/2011 1:02:01 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
When Gov. Rick Perry issued an executive order in 2007 requiring all Texas girls to receive a vaccine against the human papillomavirus before entering the sixth grade, lawmakers balked and blocked it.
Critics said the vaccine, Merck & Co.'s Gardasil, was too new to declare safe. Some said too that Perry's order would infringe on parental rights or give girls a false sense of security, leading them to be sexually active too young.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, one of Perry's opponents in the GOP gubernatorial primary, frequently slams Perry's stilled order.
Perry has stood by his action, most recently casting it as having created an optional vaccination requirement.
"That piece of legislation was not mandatory, in the sense of when you can say no, something's not mandatory," he said during the second Republican gubernatorial debate Jan. 29.
A just-say-no gubernatorial order? We decided to check.
What we found: On Feb. 2, 2007, Perry issued an executive order — not a piece of legislation, as he said — requiring the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules mandating all girls entering sixth grade to receive a vaccination against the types of HPV, a sexually-transmitted virus, that causes most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts.
The order included an opt-out "in order to protect the right of parents to be the final authority on their children's health care." Perry ordered the Department of State Health Services to allow parents dissenting for philosophical or religious reasons to request a conscientious objection affidavit form. That form, which has been available since 2003, enables parents to enroll their children in public school even if they lack state-required immunizations. It's automatically granted as long as parents provide all required information.
According to the Department of State Health Service's 2008-09 immunization report, which uses data from kindergarten and seventh-grade students at 1,300 independent school districts and 800 private schools, 0.28 percent of the students filed conscientious objection forms.
Parents must renew exemption affidavits every two years to maintain their validity, according to Allison Lowery, assistant press officer at the Texas Department of State Health Services.
We thought the opt-out form for public-school students proved Perry correct until we learned that not all private schools accept the affidavit. That means some private schools may not allow their students to exempt themselves from any state-required vaccinations. Some 15 percent of more than 1 million Texas girls in fifth through 12th grade in 2008 were enrolled in private schools, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
According to a 2006 Texas Attorney General's opinion: "A private school that does not accept state tax funds is not required to accept for enrollment a child who has received an exemption from the immunizations required by the Texas Health and Safety Code."
In its policy for Catholic schools, the Catholic Diocese of Austin states: "Immunizations are not in conflict with the Catholic faith. Conscientious objections or waivers, which may be permissible for enrollment in public schools, do not qualify as an exception to this policy." Catholic schools in the diocese do accept medical exemptions, meaning if the immunization could somehow harm the child, it's not required to enroll.
We wondered if the diocese's policy in favor of requiring state-mandated immunizations would have extended to refusing the opt-out form for girls subject to the HPV vaccination.
Perry aides may have had the same question. According to internal e-mails published online by Hutchison's campaign (also obtained by the Austin American-Statesman under Texas open records laws in 2007), Brandon LeBlanc, then the governor's community affairs public liaison, wrote Feb. 6, 2007: "I don't have an answer for the questions I'm getting regarding private schools. Apparently Catholic schools in particular will require all state vaccines, but won't except (sic) the exemptions. My first inclination, assuming this is true, is that this is for the parents and the schools to sort out. Is there a better answer to this 'problem'?"
Nora Belcher, then assistant director at the Governor's Office of Budget, Planning and Policy, replied: "I believe in the short term your answer is the correct one, plus, enrolling in Catholic school is a CHOICE (for parents, anyway)."
In February 2007, the Roman Catholic Bishops of Texas came close to saying they wouldn't require the vaccine, issuing a statement recommending that "civil authorities should leave this decision to parents."
But would parochial schools absolutely have left that particular vaccination decision to parents? Margaret McGettrick, director of education at the Texas Catholic Conference, the statewide association of the Roman Catholic diocese in Texas, recently said the superintendents, bishops and accreditation commission at the association responsible for setting school policies never formulated policy specific to the HPV vaccine.
McGettrick said "it's a non-issue for us" because the HPV vaccine was never added to the state's list of required immunizations once lawmakers froze the order until the starting date of the 2011 regular legislative session.
Allison Castle, Perry's press secretary, said: "We consider (the order) null and void and (Perry) will not pursue it in the future."
En breve: Perry did issue an order requiring schoolgirls receive the HPV vaccine. In arguing that his order was not a mandate, Perry points to the Conscientious Objection to Immunization form that lets parents of public school students decline immunizations without consequence. The burden to file and refile the notarized forms on time falls on the parents.
However, our research determined that it's not certain the opt-out would have been accepted for the 15 percent of Texas girls attending private schools. Also unknown: Whether every Catholic school would have allowed students subject to Perry's order to abstain from the three HPV shots in the vaccination series.
Ultimately, the governor issued an order for the Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner to "adopt rules that mandate the age appropriate vaccination of all female children for HPV prior to admission to the sixth grade."
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a mandate is "a clear instruction, authorization or direction." Perry says the executive order wasn't mandatory, which, according to Webster, means "demanded or required."
But that's what Perry's order did: it set up a requirement. Just because there's a loophole — a way to "say no," in the governor's parlance — doesn't mean the requirement doesn't exist. Physical education classes are also mandatory to graduate high school, but if you have any number of health conditions, you can skip the timed mile.
We rate Perry's claim Barely True.
“I understand the HPV vaccine program was always an “opt-out” program. “
Opt-out = mandatory
Opt-in = optional
Perry is still a nanny-stater, converted Democrat, no matter how you slice and dice it.
As a Texan, my biggest problem with the order was that I did not and still do not believe that the vaccine had been out long enough for some of the side effects to start showing up and for parents to make a well informed decision.
My other problem was that even with the opt out ... It was getting real close to infringing on parents’ rights.
HPV is linked to many cancers later in life.
Both my sons, ages 22 and 15, have had the shots.
When is an executive order not an order, but an “executive suggestion”?
A governor has NO BUSINESS mandating that children be required to be vaccinated against STD. Period.
This is very troubling insight into the role-of-govt mindset of Rick Perry.
Like I said. This is the primaries. The rings of fire are out there for everyone. Only one candidate is going to make it all the way through, and that is a while away.
This thread, at least STARTED, with a request for discussion. It ended up an argument about vaccines. The fact is, at the time perry proposed this executive order, the vaccine was unproven and had not been tested as it should have. That was my point to start with. WHY push an UNPROVEN vaccine? Why the rush? What purpose was there to do this? It didn’t make sense, still doesn’t, and the aftermath could have been disastrous for these young girls. That was/is my concern. And why wasn’t that HIS concern?
Scared of Perry? LOL I do not agree with that (no disrespect to ya). For example in 2010 he was for “in state tuition” during debates for illegal immigrants... In 2011 he changed his mind. I think he can be obviously “influenced” by Merck money, or the fear of losing votes. While I think it is ok to have a road to demascus moment on issues, you need to stand up and clarify your intent. He needs to have crystal clear yes and no answers on every issue.
Perry became a Republican in 1989
Ronald Reagan was also a Democrat (1932-1962) before joining the Republican Party.
In October 2007, despite their political differences on many social issues, Perry endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. "Rudy Giuliani is the most prepared individual of either party to be the next President... I'm not talkin' about any mayor, I'm talkin' about America's Mayor," Perry said.[93] Some conjectured that, if Giuliani were elected, Perry might have been considered for a position in the new President's cabinet, or perhaps the Vice Presidency.[94] However, Giuliani withdrew from the race on January 30, 2008 after failing to gain support in early primaries. Both Giuliani and Perry immediately endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain for President.[95]
This guy was still a Demonrat all through the Reagan years. He was Al Gore's campaign manager in 1988.
I think he's just another opportunist career politician who flipped and flopped and knows that conservative rhetoric plays well in today's Texas.
This guy is a Statist.
You have a good point.
Reagan admitted his mistake.
Perry has not. Perry FORCED materials of unknown
result (there WERE inadequate testing for young children)
onto children.
Like Michele Romney Rollins Bachmann, there is no
admission, no apology, and now, NO SALE.
So that's your standard as to who you will support, a Conservative candidate the media will love and adore?
Who might that media-loving Conservative be, may I ask?
You jump on a trivial controversy and pompously declare that sanctimony requires Christ like perfection defined by you.
Such an attitude is not acceptable
And we are talking about nominating this man for President? Optout or no opt out he interfered mightily in the free market and in peoples' freedom. Let's put Perry talk up there with Romney talk.
Basic English. Please break this sentence down and explain how it makes perfect sense on any level except doublespeak.
The importance of knowing about Rick Perry’s involvement is to understand he is in bed with Big Pharma, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, and he did this at a time when Merck was lobbying EVERY female STATE legislator in the United States to make the dangerous HPV Vaccine MANDATORY for all girls. This vaccine has been outlawed in many countries outside the US, including India and Spain. Perry has LOTS of ‘splainin’ to do on this issue.
Oh, please. Don’t pick a bogus argument where there is none. Read the posts for heaven’s sake.
Governor Rick Perry doesn't need my advice but I'm sure he will be answering questions in the coming months and we'll all see how he handles this.
There are more issues and I'm sure we will be covering them in detail. Including this one:
Senate votes to drive final stake through Trans Texas Corridor [excerpt] AUSTIN — The ceremony was brief and drew few mourners, but the Trans Texas Corridor is finally dead.
The Senate unanimously passed a bill that strikes from state law any language, reference and authority once connected to the massive highway envisioned to slice a swath through Texas.
The same measure already has passed the House. There are some minor differences that still need to be reconciled, but the bill is expected to go to Gov. Rick Perry, who will have to decide whether to join in the final rites for his once-prized project.
Legislators did keep a provision that was allowed under the authority of the Trans Texas Corridor: the potential of 85 mph speed limits on certain highways that are properly engineered to handle the higher speeds.
The highway corridor to parallel Interstate 35 had been a signature issue for Perry, but it was doomed after angry citizens rebelled against the private contracts, the massive proposed taking of private land and what was seen as arrogance by state transportation officials.
Perry said last year that the highway is dead, but lawmakers this year are determined to salt the earth. [end excerpt]
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Elendur: A lot of threads have been posted on Perry. Search by their names and you find a lot of great stuff. I was hoping to keep the scope of this thread narrow since some FReepers have been commenting about it on other threads. I wanted to address it so that they could make their points on a thread dedicated to that topic (a searchable thread for future reference.
You really should have your eyes examined.
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