Posted on 02/06/2007 8:45:52 AM PST by Froufrou
Gov. Rick Perry stood firm Monday against a political firestorm ignited by his order that sixth-grade girls be inoculated against a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer.
Social conservatives from Austin to Washington joined some state lawmakers in calling for Perry to reverse his executive order making Texas the first state to mandate the human papillomavirus vaccine for girls entering sixth grade in September 2008.
Several legislators expressed outrage that Perry circumvented the legislative process. Several bills had been filed to make the HPV shots mandatory for school enrollment.
"This needs closer examination. How much will it cost the state?" Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, said at a news conference.
"Most importantly, as a mother of four daughters I want to make sure our daughters' health is protected and parental rights are preserved."
Another senator, Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, said he'd file legislation to reverse Perry's order, which he said was not in the best interest of the state.
Parents will be able to opt their 11- and 12-year-old daughters out of the program, as they can for other required vaccines.
As speculation swirled about why Perry risked angering his conservative base, political observers said the governor is showing newfound independence and may be trying to raise his national profile as a potential vice presidential candidate.
The governor's spokesman also indicated that first lady Anita Perry's strong support for the vaccine might have played a role in the decision. A former nurse and the daughter of a doctor, Anita Perry works for an organization dealing with sexual assaults.
"I know they have discussed it, and it's something they both feel very strongly about," the spokesman, Robert Black, said.
In a statement, Perry addressed criticism that the vaccine could send a message that teenage sex is permissible.
"Providing the HPV vaccine doesn't promote sexual promiscuity any more than providing the Hepatitis B vaccine promotes drug use," he said.
"If the medical community developed a vaccine for lung cancer, would the same critics oppose it claiming it would encourage smoking?"
Perry's office said it would cost the state $29 million for its share of inoculating students who are uninsured or on government health programs. Federal funds also will be available for children on Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Federal health authorities last year recommended girls and young women get the vaccine, which prevents infection by four common strains of the HPV virus, which can cause cervical cancer years after infection.
Cervical cancer accounts for 3,700 deaths a year in the United States, including nearly 400 in Texas.
House Ways and Means Chairman Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, said he supports the vaccine but noted that other state legislatures have decided not to make it mandatory.
"What kind of deal was made?" asked Keffer, referring to comments by Cathie Adams, president of Texas Eagle Forum, that Perry's political ties with drug company Merck may have influenced the decision.
Perry's office has denied he was influenced by anything other than health concerns. His ex-chief of staff, Mike Toomey, is a lobbyist for Merck and Perry got $6,000 in contributions from the drug manufacturer's political action committee.
Black said Perry and Toomey never discussed the issue, and noted the Merck campaign contributions were relatively small.
"The governor is very pro-life, and he views this as protecting life," Black said. "The human race has never had an opportunity to prevent cancer. Not to pursue that opportunity, the governor believes that would be morally reprehensible."
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick both said Perry did not consult them. Craddick said he didn't have a position on the issue. Dewhurst said he would prefer a voluntary vaccination program.
GOP consultant Royal Masset said he thinks Perry wants to be considered as a national leader. Perry talked about international terrorism and immigration reform in his inaugural address.
"Health care is one of the most powerful issues we're going to be dealing with nationally," Masset said.
Meanwhile, a Christian group knocked the Texas governor in a Washington update mailed to supporters Monday.
Tony Perkins with Family Research Council said, "By commandeering this issue, Gov. Perry, who has championed family values, has only succeeded in arousing more mistrust."
Agreed.
No one wants to think that their daughter would ever be permiscuous or that she would be abused by a scuz. Wonder if the same virus could be the cause of rectal cancer in men and could be prevented in the same way in young boys?
Bad things do happen to good people as well as bad.
My favorite post in all of this so far has been "Well, if you raise your daughter in a stable, loving, two parent home, this wouldn't be an issue!" (to paraphrase).
If life were truly that simple.
Amazing. If it wasn't so tragic, that would be funny.
Again, sweet little baby boys get abused as well, what opportunity did they have to be raised unscathed in a stable 2 parent home?
Thank you for your words of wisdom.
I think the problem with this debate is it's three separate issues.
a. A vaccine that may not be as well tested as possible being offered.
b. A vaccine being offered to very young females to prevent a cancer causing, sexually transmitted virus.
c. Government mandates.
If each aspect had it's own thread and it's own debate, it would make sense. But what is happening it's all getting tangled into madness.
Personally,
a. It's not perfect, but neither were any of the previous vaccines offered. I remember polio. Life is trade-offs.
b. If I had a daughter, she'd get it. Life ain't perfect.
c. The government can just butt out.
Oh. #7, #11-13, and keyword slutshot.
That's not right.
I'm not saying "all" people in research are without love for their fellow man, but it's a well known fact that they grapple to be "first" in their fields. Look at what happened when the AIDS virus was isolated. An American took credit he wasn't due.
Gov. Perry: If you're a girl, society dictates you are for fornication. Therefore, we will vaccinate you. Afterall, we do the same for our cattle.
I did not realize you disagreed with the mandate.
I think we all agree that the gubmint should butt out.
a. Yep, No protocol is perfect. This study was huge and highly expensive. That being said, the FDA practically dictates the protocols to pharm companies. FDA gets no profit. The number of lives that were going to be saved by approval greatly outweighed that lost by delay.
b. yep.
c. yep.
You are a gift, meant just for me. Thank you.
My honest opinion is that if Hillary Clinton issued this imperial decree for our 11-12 year old daughters, you'd be up in arms.
And the fact that we know how HPV is transmitted should enter into any thinking person's analysis of the risk/benefits of this new vaccine, which has tested on fewer than 2,000 girls.
That's one looser in a field of thousands.
Yes researchers are competitive, the ones who do the least make the most noise. But the worker bees keep the egotists in control, the field is flooded with the consciensous. You don't hear about them.
You'd loose.
Read my other posts. I want the government out of all private issues.
When it comes to vaccines, I'm very pragmatic and in this case, with the stats being what they are, I'm very pro this vaccine.
I also know this site. If this wasn't about sex, there'd be one thread and it'd have 12 posts before death.
We've both said that we are against government mandates.
How the disease is acquired is entering into emotional judgement versus actual risk/benefit.
FDA set the standard for the number of required subjects.
It ain't easy to find virgins in that age group, who will volunteer that information these days and who will also dedicate themselves to the protocol of a study, and that is why the number of vaccinated in the studies is what you think is low.
As a contingent of licensure, long term follow up studies are dictated and that was done in this case as well. We could wait 30 years for those kinds of results, but that would mean 30 years times ~approx 3.5 thousand in the US alone die from cervical cancer.
If I had a daughter, I have goys, I'd be thrilled to have her vaccinated. Too bad, our aunts never had the opportunity.
For me, it has nothing to do with sex.
MERCK'S GARDASIL VACCINE NOT PROVEN SAFE FOR LITTLE GIRLS
The FDA allowed Merck to use a potentially reactive aluminum containing placebo as a control for most trial participants, rather than a non-reactive saline solution placebo.[1] A reactive placebo can artificially increase the appearance of safety of an experimental drug or vaccine in a clinical trial. Gardasil contains 225 mcg of aluminum and, although aluminum adjuvants have been used in vaccines for decades, they were never tested for safety in clinical trials. Merck and the FDA did not disclose how much aluminum was in the placebo.[2]
Animal and human studies have shown that aluminum can cause nerve cell death [3] and that vaccine aluminum adjuvants can allow aluminum to enter the brain, [4 5] as well as cause inflammation at the injection site leading to chronic joint and muscle pain and fatigue. [6 7] Nearly 90 percent of Gardasil recipients and 85 percent of aluminum placebo recipients followed-up for safety reported one or more adverse events within 15 days of vaccination, particularly at the injection site
And this:
"Merck and the FDA do not reveal in public documents exactly how many 9 to 15 year old girls were in the clinical trials, how many of them received hepatitis B vaccine and Gardasil simultaneously, and how many of them had serious adverse events after being injected with Gardasil or the aluminum placebo.
No, I believe you. These are the ones who make sure that everything is tidy with an excellent paper trail.
That's the only way to demonstrate the credibility of the work. Sloppiness is not acceptable.
But, there's no way of knowing whether it was Arrogant Ego Scientist or Methodology First Scientist who mapped this thing.
Another thing that just crossed my mind. It's the first vaccine for a virus other than flu, isn't it? I wonder why the flu virus comes in A or B but this one has the four strains they can treat combined.
Yep. As they should with so many other things.
If only because of the sensitivity of the subject matter and public misperception and that is exactly what is happening.
But you know politicians, they can't keep their grubby hands off what others have accomplished.
"It ain't easy to find virgins in that age group,"
The ages tested were not the ages targeted for the vaccine. They were 16-26. I didn't see it mentioned whether they were virgins.
For you, this issue is about sex.
How many folks died or became disabled in the study?
So?
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