OOOH! Ooooh!  I found it! Something of substance to talk about!
I actually saw this story on CNN in passing the other day, and my ears perked up. And while I’m always in-transit when I hear the tv blaring, this story stuck with me for awhile because I couldn’t figure out how I felt about it.
Austin, TX is now requiring all school-age girls to be vaccinated with the HPV Vaccine before entering the 6th grade.
Yes, requiring.
At first, I thought, AWESOME. This will prevent many, many girls from becoming women at the risk of cervical cancer. And as my paternal grandmother passed away from the disease, I think that’s a great idea.Â
But then I thought.. is the governor allowed to do that? Can he demand that I take this vaccine? Isn’t that stepping into my personal choices?
Well, countered my devil’s advocate, it’s no different than a measles vaccine, and you don’t hear anyone complaining about that.
Sort of, said the other half. But this is expressly marketed to prevent HPV through sexual contact. (As in, I am not a candidate for this vaccine.) And without proper education, which we’re not prone to do, kids might (incorrectly) believe that this protects them from other STDs, perhaps even pregnancy.
So I don’t have an answer.
Part of me wants to leave that decision to the parents; it will give them a marvelous opportunity to open a dialogue with their daughters about sexuality and the precautions needed to safely engage in intimacy. At the same time, this requires an honesty that most teenage girls may not posess. (Hell, I see women every day not be able to admit to themselves what their sex life is.) And while it should be up to the parents, I say that HOPING that every parent would WANT this safety measure for their child. If a parent doesn’t.. should the child necessarily be put at risk? Because the parent finds it immoral, should we subject the child to a chance of cervical cancer?
I don’t know. Like I said, I couldn’t come to a conclusion. Thoughts?
From someone with a child who about to starts this series of shots this spring-I’m glad for it. Nobody should die from disease that we now have the technology to prevent or lower the chances of getting. However, I see your point about people being MADE to get it. As a parent, I made the choice for my child because it’s in her best interest.
I’m doing the shots too. Hopefully I’ll never need it, but hey, it’s like insurance right?
Depends on the side effects/risks… I haven’t looked into those yet. Elyse is going to get the shots.
Sometimes the bitter have to suffer with the sweet. The truth is, these days I have seen more than enough “lame duck” parenting to last me a lifetime.
We’ve had now three outbreaks of lice at the school where I work…because parents send their kids to school with lice.
We can’t trust parents in this day and age to act in the best interest of their children. So, the school will provide sex education and also this vaccine. I think that’s brilliant.
Schools require many shots for new students, remember getting booster shots as a kid? Samething I think its a fantastic idea!