I’m glad that the weather is nice enough that if I have to get a prescription filled, I can at least walk to the drugstore to do it.

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. 

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?

Wanna know what made my day yesterday?  Realizing that Krogers stocks two of my FAVORITE things so I can keep them in my fridge for luxury at a moment’s notice: I had a pita pocket FILLED with turkey, sundried tomatoes, and goat cheese.  MMMMM.