Gov. Rick Perry has decided that every girl entering the 6th grade (in 2008) should receive a controversial new shot before they can go to school. He is requiring Merck's "anti-cervical cancer" drug for girls aged 11 to 12. Now what you don't know is that this is not an anti cancer drug, it is an anti HPV (human papillomavirus). HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that in some cases has caused cervical cancer.
I know I don't have daughters yet, but I would like to some day. And I want to teach my daughter and bring her up in such a way that she knows that sex before marriage is not God's plan for her life. Why would I give my daughter a shot that go against the way I am raising her? I am angry that our governor feels he has the right to tell me that this shot is how my daughter will be raised.
I know the argument is that teens will have sex anyway why not protect them now? Well why not teach them abstinence and actually stand by it and reward those who follow through with it? When my daughter goes to school and in ELEMENTARY school she is required to have a shot that will prevent and STD what message are we sending? It is okay to have sex because now you won't get HPV! I am sick at my stomach. I am to angry to even finish this thought.
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Let me just play Devil's Advocate...keep in mind that when I heard that same news report I did the head back and forth and said "I don't think so..."
I think that even children who are raised well can make mistakes.
What if something happens against your daughter's will?
I come across a lot of poor, uneducated people in my line of work who because of the family systems they come from do not know better. I don't want them to be forever punished with a disease because nobody taught them better. Or worse, since HPV is passed on to a fetus, for a child to be punished because of an irresponsible mom.
I hope that me and my family can be an influence, a stand in the gap, if you will, for children who haven't been taught better. But I don't wish disease on anyone who comes from a family life that perpetuates low self respect. Or on anyone who knows better and messes up.
But, on the other hand, it's kind of like how I feel about free condoms and birth control...it's going to make it easier for some teenagers to do the wrong thing without any regard to consequences.
I highly recommend that you get involved in a public school abstinence program. Or make sure that your family is a serious influence and has good relationships with families who need to see daughters being taught to regard their bodies with respect and holiness.
Those are just my devil's advocate thoughts with maybe a few personal feelings mixed in...
We live in such a sad broken world that needs light...sigh...
It is not that I think kids won't make mistakes, they will. But it should not be state mandated. If the state would like to make the drug available as an option, even a strongly recommended option, I am okay with that. If they want to educate on the drug and offer it at free clinics for girls in the higher risk categories, once again I am actually in favor. But for Rick Perry to bypass the House and the Senate and sign something into legislation that is hotly contested without letting anyone else vote is an abuse of the system that he is supposed to govern.
And to address the point of what if something happens against my daughter's will - if your daughter was forced into something would you want her to take the morning after pill?
I know these are HSOs and some people may not agree with me and I am okay with that, this is a forum for debate and all those that enter into the debate will be loved no matter what.
I was not actually aware of this legislation - we were gone all day and hadn't even turned the TV on. I just read a few articles about it, however, and one thing that really bothers me about the whole thing is that it seems as though Perry just made this decision based on who his political supporters are and for financial reasons. Although I am in agreement with you, Tara, that this does indeed step on many parents' toes and that I don't personally feel good about this move, I think the act would bother me slightly less if I felt that he actually cared about the well-being of school-age girls or about the population of girls that Julie describes. Perry actually received money from the makers of this vaccination for his re-election campaign. It's not like he is just doing this to make this vaccination accessible to a wider population of girls who may need it more than others due to their family systems. I just feel like he signed the law into effect for personal gain and to keep the drug's manufacturers in his pocket. Here is the AP article that is on Fox News and several other websites: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,250019,00.html.
Morally, I am with you on this subject. I hope I only have boys.
Sorry, I meant to put this in my last comment, but I forgot, then I had to go tell Boone about this. It is another issue that I don't feel like was considered when mandating this legislation. Despite FDA testing, most every drug has unanticipated side effects when released to the general population. As this vaccine has not even been on the market for a year, it seems irresponsible to put every 11-12 year old girl entering sixth grade in 2008 at risk for these side effects, whether they be large or small. Also, (and this is secondary to the health of the girls) if the side effects prove to me major, the state of Texas is going to be sued BIG time.
Tara, I have a whole perspective on vaccinations that I am not going to go into here, but you would probably be surprised how similar this vaccination is to another one your child has already received. Texas is one of the best states to live in for exemption from required vaccinations. There are three different exemptions - health, religion and basically an "I don't want to." In other words, required still really means strongly suggested and you'll have to fill out some paperwork to exempt your child. You are ultimately the one responsible for your child's health decisions, not the government, the school, or your doctor, and I think it is always vitally important to prayerfully consider every health decision you make for your child.
I was thinking what Courtney said...there's almost always an out with "required" vaccines. I don't think it should be "required". Since it hasn't been out long I'd be scared of side effects! I agree with Julie...we need to be big advocates of our school's abstinence programs!
Tara,
I am totally with you on the morning after pill. I would definetely not be for that. Although I might not once have been able to answer that question for certain, after I read Francine River's book called Atonement Child, I definitely am not ever for that.
I don't know how I feel about this completely. I think having it as a "strongly recommended" option for girls who think they might be sexually active is good, but it should definitely be optional.
The hospital I work for has let me attend several seminars taught by doctors and psychologists about vaccinations and their effects and the best research says that if it isn't encased in mercury (which none are anymore) it is safe, and they are largely inconclusive about the mercury encasements. But I will tell you that parents of children with disorders have sat in my office and swear that they went to the doctor's office with one child and left the doctor's office with a different child. I think it is totally an individual decision for vaccinations.
I hope this doesn't sound rude, but Gov Perry graduated from college with a 2.2 GPA...not sure I want to let him decide what my child gets shot up with.
I can't wait to actually catch up with you in person next weekend!
Wow, that is a pretty creepy piece of legislation! Glad I live in Florida, hehehe...
I'm curious as to which shot Courtney was referring to that was similar to this one?
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