WASHINGTON (ABP) — Texas and its conservative governor, Rick Perry, have become the nation's first — and perhaps most unlikely — test case for requiring school-aged girls to receive a vaccine that can prevent both cervical cancer and a common sexually transmitted disease.
Perry, a Republican and the darling of many social conservatives for his strong anti-gay and anti-abortion stances, angered many of his erstwhile allies Feb. 2. That day, he signed an executive order mandating that the female students entering the sixth grade in all Texas schools receive the vaccine for the human papilloma virus, or HPV.
With his recent order, Perry made Texas the first state to require the vaccine for schoolchildren. Almost immediately, several conservative Christian groups lambasted the decision.
“Gov. Perry has turned his back on the pro-life and pro-family people who elected him and is now playing into the agenda of Planned Parenthood, a group which regularly opposes parents' rights,” said a press release from the American Life League, a Catholic anti-abortion group.
The virus's various strains are among the most common sexually transmitted diseases. By some estimates, up to 70 percent of all sexually active adults in the United States are infected — with most not exhibiting symptoms. Some strains of the virus cause warts. A handful of strains can also cause cervical cancer in women.
According to American Cancer Society estimates, 11,150 American women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year, and 3,670 will die from the disease during the same period. Cervical cancer also tends to affect women at a younger age than other common types of cancer, with about half of diagnoses occurring in women between the ages of 35 and 55.
In June, the federal Food and Drug Administration approved the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer caused by HPV infection. The vaccine, with the commercial name Gardasil, is manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co.
“Preventing cervical cancer is a critical public health goal; however, HPV is transmitted through sexual contact, making it much harder for schools to justify mandating the vaccine as a requirement of public school attendance,” wrote Tony Perkins, head of the Washington-based Family Research Council, in the Feb. 5 edition of his daily e-newsletter. “Parents should have had the opportunity to voice their views to and through their elected leaders. By commandeering this issue, Gov. Perry, who has championed family values, has only succeeded in arousing more mistrust.”
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood of North Texas and other women's heath organizations praised Perry's actions.
While Texas would be the first state to mandate such vaccinations, legislative proposals to do so are pending in several other states. In Kentucky, a Feb. 15 staff editorial in the University of Kentucky's student newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, recommended that Kentucky follow Texas' lead.
“[T]he vaccine is not as effective if the recipient has previously contracted HPV. Considering most sexually active women will get a strain of HPV at some point, this is a major caveat,” the editorial noted. “The solution is to administer the vaccine to girls at a young age, before they become sexually active, and by requiring the vaccine, the spread of HPV can be slowed.”
Most conservative opponents of Perry's order have said they support the HPV vaccine but oppose the governor's making it mandatory — even though Perry's order includes an opt-out provision for parents who have objections to HPV vaccination.
Texas legislators already are acting to overturn Perry's order. A bill to that effect was introduced and is on a fast track to approval — with more than 60 co-sponsors as of Feb. 15. The proposal is scheduled to have its first committee hearing Feb. 19.
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