Okay, class. Review session! As you will recall, we recently discussed how human pappilomavirus, (HPV) is a sexually transmitted disease which can cause genital warts and, in extreme cases, cervical cancer. Pharmaceutical companies Merck and Glaxo-Smith Klein have been developing vaccines to immunize against HPV and potentially save millions of lives. As you will also recall, I've spent some time ranting lately about how the Holy Terrors at first tried to discourage the approval of the new HPV vaccine, then did an about-face when they discovered (horrors!!!) that it was giving them some bad press.
Let's jump into the wayback machine...
To directly quote:
Bridget Maher, spokesperson for the Family Research Council, believes that last bit of good news may not be such good news after all. “Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex.”
Later on, as documented, the FRC went all nicey-nice about Merck's obtaining approval for the vaccine from the FDA.
However, according to this article in Nerve, the Holy Terrors, as expected, aren't REALLY concerned with preventing cervical cancer.
Christina Page's article lays out the Holy Terrors' game plan. Rather than attack the vaccine directly (and come out being the bad guys), they're going after state programs to REQUIRE vaccination of schoolchildren, so they're coming across as only being interested in preserving parents' choices.
From the article:
Focus on the Family hailed the vaccine as "a tremendous breakthrough in science that will likely save millions of women's lives around the world," but said it would oppose mandatory HPV vaccinations. Likewise, The Family Research Council may now "support the widespread distribution of vaccines against HPV," but "would oppose any measures to legally require vaccination."
According to Dr. Gregory Zimet, chair of the vaccine committee at the Society for Adolescent Medicine, this is the Right's attempt to repackage its original agenda. "The softening of their position came, at least in part, from the recognition that being labeled as pro-cancer didn't really fit well with their attempt to present themselves as pro-life," said Zimet. "Many of them are now saying, 'We've never been opposed to it,' even though I looked at their websites a year and a half ago and they were. What they've done is said, 'Of course we're not opposed to this vaccine that can save the lives of our daughters, our wives and our mothers — but we just don't think it should be forced on people.' So, I think partly [the new message] is cover and partly it may be a warning — as they say, a shot across the bow." It will be up to the states to decide whether the HPV vaccine is, like innoculations against polio and diptheria, required for a child to proceed through school. "As states begin to consider the potential for mandating a vaccine like this," says Zimet, "They are forewarned that these groups will put resources to fight it."
One asshole to keep an eye on is Reginald Finger. He used to be the Focus On The Family's medical advisor. Now, he's sitting on the board of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) which will meet tomorrow (June 29th) to make recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control about whether and how to administer any HPV vaccine program. A few months ago, according to Ms. Page's article, Finger said, "If people begin to market the vaccine or tout the vaccine [so as to suggest] that this makes adolescent sex safer, then that would undermine the abstinence-only message."
Same old song and dance...except this nimrod isn't just a whore for the Holy Terrors' lobbying groups. He's a Bush-appointed whore grown fat on our tax dollars. "Don't inoculate your kids against HPV! If they're going to have pre-marital sex let 'em risk cancer! That'll teach them to keep their pants up and skirts down! And Uncle Sam? You can just direct-deposit that paycheck, can't you?"
Speaking as the father of four, (with two smack in the middle of puberty, God Help me!) I want my kids armed to the teeth against every STD out there, as soon as possible. It would be insanely naive of me to think my kids wouldn't dream of exploring their sexuality before they got married (and I was long in the grave). Hell, my dad was pretty forthright and up front with me when it came to sex, and there are still things I did behind his back. My kids need a vaccine against HPV for the same reason they needed shots against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and on and on and on. My kids don't live in germ-free contact-free bubbles any more than I did. It would be incredibly stupid of me not to protect my kids as much as possible.
Except, of course, if I were a Holy Terror. Then, I'm just one of the crowd.
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