Quote:
Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
So I have this problem.
The Republican governor of our state went ahead last week and issued an executive order mandating that girls going into sixth grade be innoculated from HPV.
This order happens to be a cash cow for Merck, since the vaccine goes for about $300 a pop.
Merck and the governor are tight enough, though I don't think that the $6,000 in Merck gave last year is enough to sway this sort of decision, to raise eyebrows on the issue.
Republicans are pissed. Pissed, I tell you. There are angry letters being written as I speak. You see, vaccination will promote promiscuity* and if girls get the vaccine then they'll think that it's ok to go out and have sex 24/7, because they're now protected from a sexually trasmitted disease that causes 70% of cervical cancers. The governor says that parents can opt out for health, moral or religious reasons, so if there's a chastity belt already in place, then no worries.
This is where I start to squirm, though. Because, though I firmly believe that this is a good idea and the Republican pro-cancer legislators' points aren't valid, I'm a little irritated that the legislative process wasn't really brought into play. And the Republican legislators have a point there.** This is a policy decision that needs to be tweaked a little before being implemented, especially if public dollars are going to be spent on the project.
Damn my belief in governement and process getting the way in a result I want!
*Motherfucking assholes. I'm sure I didn't need to say it, but I needed to say it.
**'course, none of them bitched a few years go when the Governor issued an executive order regarding the 65% rule on money in the classroom. But kids weren't having sex then.
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I am not generally fond of laws to protect us from ourselves, especially one's that mandate the use of new drugs. I'm not ready to conclude any drug is truly safe until it has been used for at least a generation.
I can see a law to mandate coverage for those who want the drug, but why force the drug on people unless you're trying to prevent something contagious, where one person getting the disease puts many others at risk? And I don't believe cervical cancer is one of those.
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