Rick Perry's wife Anita Perry was a nurse for many years and still is involved in health care as First Lady of Texas, so I imagine health care is something this governor is more aware of than maybe your "average" governor and understood this to be a vaccine that would combat cervical cancer and cut heath care costs.
Then too Rick Perry grew up hard scrabble with little luxury as many have, yet vaccines traditionally have been made available to all.
Instead of applying the worst motives to Rick Perry, perhaps his critics could consider that his motives were good ones.
Another FReeper had some thoughts on this issue.
However, there are some here on FR who prefer to apply the worst motives to Rick Perry.
The most "vocal" either won't name a candidate they would support; say they would vote for Huntsman or Romney over Perry; say they would rather Obama stay in the White House than vote for Rick Perry.
The HPV vaccine was always Opt-Out. And according to this report had been changed to Opt-In, before being dropped entirely.
90 days after his EO, Gov. Rick Perry let stand legislation undoing the EO.
..Ann Hettinger, Concerned Women for America's state director of Texas, was instrumental in convincing Perry to change his proposal to an opt-in provision. When asked if Perry's original plans for the HPV vaccine would be an issue if he were to run for president, [Penny] Nance replied, “It would've been an issue IF HE HAD NOT FIXED IT.”
Knock yourselves out.
I’d take Perry over Romney or Gingrich. I don’t know anything about Huntsman yet.
Perry never "fixed" it:
In May of 2007, state legislators in Texas passed a bill that effectively overturned Governor Perry's order mandating Gardasil. In response to the bill, Governor Perry held a press conference where he first thanked the legislators who voted against the bill, and then referred to numerous cervical cancer survivors as evidence that the mandate was necessary.
"No lost lives will occupy the confines of their conscience, sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. ...
I challenge legislators to look these women in the eye and tell them, 'We could have prevented this disease for your daughters and your granddaughters, but we just didn't have the gumption to address all the misguided and misleading political rhetoric.' "
The bill's author, state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, criticized the governor's decision "to use cancer victims as his backdrop for an issue that he has grossly misjudged."
" The governor has missed the point. Just because you don't want to offer up 165,000 11-year-old girls to be Merck's study group doesn't mean you don't care about women's health, doesn't mean you don't care about young girls."
Governor Perry allowed the bill to go into affect without vetoing it as the state legislature had enough votes to override the veto.
Me: Whatever you think about the Gardasil episode it's important to tell the truth about it.
“The HPV vaccine was always Opt-Out. And according to this report had been changed to Opt-In, before being dropped entirely. “
Thanks for this post — this information is clearly not well known. Some are acting as if Perry personally is holding down young girls as we speak, forcing them to receive the vaccine, then pushing them out to have sex.
I wonder what are their motives for spreading such disinformation.
I just came across something else — a lot of states require HPV vaccinations.
http://www.aproundtable.org/HPV/states.html
I just also looked up info on Gardasil, which I haven’t done before.
I guess it’s a bad thing to try to prevent women from having cancer. With the opt-out it’s NOT “mandatory”.
“GARDASIL is the only human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that helps protect against 4 types of HPV. In girls and young women ages 9 to 26, GARDASIL helps protect against 2 types of HPV that cause about 75% of cervical cancer cases, and 2 more types that cause 90% of genital warts cases. In boys and young men ages 9 to 26, GARDASIL helps protect against 90% of genital warts cases.
GARDASIL also helps protect girls and young women ages 9 to 26 against 70% of vaginal cancer cases and up to 50% of vulvar cancer cases.”
http://www.gardasil.com/hpv/hpv-types/hpv-transmission/index.html?WT.mc_id=GL0ES&MTD=2
This is a totally ludicrous election issue — we have someone president who is literally destroying the country and our freedoms. Then we have Perry, who can beat him in 2012 and the worst thing people can say about Perry, is that he wanted to protect young girls from cancer... and I guess that is good enough reason for some to just give Obama 4 more years.
This is Twilight Zone stuff...
To prevent dupes, please do not alter the published title, thanks.
When I look at this issue I see a six thousand dollar campaign gift from the pharma company behind Guardasil and Perry backing down under pressure and changing his position.
If his name were Romney people would be calling it a flip-flop.
Perry was in favor of the whore’s vaccine. I do not want my girls to receive the whore’s vaccine since they are not whores.
I’m a social conservative. I’m looking for the candidate who can win, and I’m not convinced that Bachmann is that candidate.
That said, if she were the nominee, I would vote for her.
I prefer Perry or Palin, neither of whom is running.
” Christian Right leaders are not rallying behind Michele Bachmann for president and it’s “probably” because they are sexist, contends a writer for Time. “
Will save that quote in case Bachman is the nominee and Time trashes her.
Ah yes, the ‘Christian Right’. I wonder why the ‘Athiest Left’ doesn’t have enthusiasm for Backmann.
Yo, TIME, why do you think Liberals are so hateful of Sarah Palin?
You post multiple pro-Perry threads here every day, so do you yourself have any connection to Perry, his administration, or his fledgling campaign?
1) This vaccine was NOT the province of government. It was NOT a disease which could be passed by students sitting next to each other in class.
2) I don’t want another power-mad president who thinks that his little pet projects can be imposed by fiat.
If you liked GW Bush, you will love Rick Perry.