No Messing Around in Texas
When we heard that the Republican governor of Texas had ordered all sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, it sounded too good to be true.
It was. Yesterday, the Texas legislature overruled Gov. Rick Perry's order by a combined vote of 165-to-3. Sen. Glenn Hegar Jr., who sponsored the bill to bypass the governor, explained why:
There was no public testimony -- why we were jumping so fast into a vaccine that was not for a true communicable disease ...
... because, as everyone knows, sex ain't allowed in the Lone Star State.
Texas Legislators Block Shots for Girls Against Cancer Virus [NY Times]
April 26, 2007
At least they didn't *ban* the vaccine, or require girls to get their priest's or minister's or rabbi's consent before receiving it.
Although I agree the vaccine is a good idea, it makes me nervous whenever the government steps in to say what kind of medical treatment people can or cannot have. For example, the kind of abortion recently bannned by the US government (I won't repeat the inflammatory name pinned on the procedure by some groups). I don't think the issue is whether you agree with the procedure, but whether you support personal choice.
Agreed. I should mention that the governor's order allowed parents to choose not to have their daughter vaccinated. (Of course, opt out programs have their own problems.)