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 think they have been proven to be useful and affective. This vaccination (HPV) is both unnecessary and un-proven. I can't imagine why anyone would allow a governor to dictate that their child get it.
I sincerely hope and pray that Governor Perry will admit he was mistaken in his judgment on this issue.
By the time you get to be Perry’s age, your core values control your decisions. His core values are wrong for America.
Someone who will sign an order like this will definitely keep Obamacare in place.
Was anyone brought up on charges or was nothing illegal involved?
Laws made by Lawyers are full of loopholes. Illegal doesn’t matter, immoral and unethical are far more important.
Rick Perry issued this "opt-out" vaccine EO in 2007, with the understanding that there are 4 types of HPV linked to cervical cancer that it prevents.
Jan 13, 2011Four years later Merck is having their ads pulled in France and England due to their advertising the drug as “Armed for Life.”
It seems to me that it is Merck's French partner Sanofli-Pasteur and their marketing that has the splainin' to do. It is that promotion of the vaccine that is being "outlawed" not the vaccine itself. Same thing in India where GlaxoSmithKline was promoting Cervarix.
He reminds me of Tom Ridge.
So now is’s bash Perry time on FR. First Bachmann now Perry. How sad that a conservative website spends so much time bashing conservatives not named Sarah Palin.
And you base this on what?
When I heard about this at the time, my natural reaction was to oppose it as ill-conceived. The one thing I didn’t do was assume an ill motive to Perry. It seemed like something one would do from a health standpoint as in trying to prevent something of epidemic proportions by using the schools as an outlet for the vaccine.
I thought it ill-conceived, in that it hit people’s minds out of the blue, out of nowhere, and they would perceive it differently than other required vaccines upon initial entry to school. I remember thinking, I doubt Perry has completely thought this through, but must have reacted viscerally to the health issue concern and the chance to impact that. I still assume that is the reason he did it.
People claiming he needed money from Merck (ha ha, good one), or that he simply wanted to impose his will over parents will as a big government nanny stater are taking that view of the man because the want to. They are inventing those motives in their own minds.
Also, every time someone posts “no sale” to your Perry posts, I have to laugh. Funny, I don’t see an attempt to sell anyone on voting for Rick Perry. I see another side to the Perry fear and hatred side being posted. And there is another side that deserves a hearing in defense from the attack on Perry.
That isn’t salesmanship. It’s defensive by it’s very nature.
Please find this information and add it to the thread. Just cut and paste and add a link please. Thanks for your help.
It was a gutless move.
You put that very clearly.
Thank you.
Perry is much better looking, IMO.
The basis for asserting that Perry wants Obamacare because of his error on the Guardasil vaccine might be sheer ignorance. Perry and the whole of Texas government are heart and soul against Obamacare, for all the world to see.
Have you read the damage this can do to young girls?
http://truthaboutgardasil.org/
http://www.vaccineinjuryhelpcenter.com/gardasil-and-cervarix-study-halted-after-multiple-deaths/
It isn’t the advertising. Why are you trying so hard to absolve perry from this?
Gardasil and Cervarix study halted after multiple deaths
In this case, the young girls who died at the hands of a Gardasil vaccine were in India. No matter if we are looking at deaths close to home or around the world this information shows the very real and very serious impact of a highly dangerous vaccine. While Gardasil and its European counterpart Cervarix (which is yet to be approved for use in the U.S.) have been on the market since 2006, it has been met with strong opposition and even defiance by some.
A dramatic marketing campaign initially brought in thousands of young girls and women for a vaccine that they were told would prevent cervical cancer and possibly keep them healthy. Unfortunately the reality of this vaccine is that it has been highly understudied in the teenage population and only minimally studied otherwise and with its approval for girls age 9 to 26 one health official called it a “giant public health experiment.”
As victim after victim contracts a wide and varying immunological attack–some hours and some days or weeks after vaccination many people have begun to question its use and its safety. For the parents of young ladies who have died after the vaccine they are asking for help and demanding answers. It is no different for the families of 6 Indian girls who died after their vaccinations–the incidences were serious enough for Indian health officials to call the trials off.
Why hasn’t anyone called off the vaccine in this country? When similar results occur here, they are swept under the rug and called “coincidence.” While the Indian government did give permission for the trials, and it was approved by officials of the Ethical Committee and Advisory Groups on both central and state levels, certainly no one expected an outcome like this. How many more young women have to die before someone will call it quits?
As Gardasil rates lag behind in the U.S., and more girls fail to complete the three shot series, it appears that the public is sending a message to Merck–the maker of the drug. Letting them know that they aren’t falling for the fancy commercials and if in fact they want to be “one less” they will stay away completely.
Indian government has decided to stop all trials of the vaccine in their country and around the world nation after nation is beginning to take notice of many different types of complications that could be related to the vaccine. Auto immune diseases, coma, permanent muscle weakness and death are all serious results from this dangerous drug. Parents can only be vigilant to research and understand the risks before putting their child’s life on the line for Gardasil.
I would suggest you do the opposite. Prove that it's needed and effective.
I went to the previous link you posted from the CDC. The numbers are staggeringly low in the attempt to bolster your position when you factor in all the "mays", "cans", "mights", "possibly", etc.
For example:
There are several ways that people can lower their chances of getting HPV:
The text in red is my emphasis. Note that it does not say the the vaccine will prevent it but merely "lower your chances" of getting it.
“Gardasil has since been proven dangerous to such young girls”.
A lot of research for the long term issues haven’t been done either. A friend of ours had her daughter vaccinated since cervical cancer runs in their family. She recently told me that her pediatrician said there was disturbing data about the vaccine and sterility/infertility. My point is this: you can’t “catch” HPV by sneezes, coughs etc. Perry showed me an interesting side of himself... one that I don’t like at all. MANDATORY is a word that frightens true freedom loving Americans. Whether there is a pharmaceutical money connection to Perry or not, this stinks. IMHO
No, but I do know two people who have HPV.
Perry: executive order requiring young girls to be vaccinated against HPV wasn’t mandatory
How can a requirement, not be mandatory???
This is double speak backpedaling by a RINO IMHO.
To op-out you have to jump through a hoop of paper work.
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