Posted on 02/09/2007 11:44:19 AM PST by Froufrou
Children of God for Life is urging West Virginia lawmakers to scrap HB 2835 mandating Merck's new Gardasil HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine.
Following last week' hotly debated Executive Order by Governor Perry to mandate Gardasil in Texas, West Virginia is the latest of at least two dozen states proposing to add the controversial vaccine as a requirement for school attendance. However, unlike Texas and 48 other states including DC, which have laws allowing parents to opt-out, WVA and Mississippi are the only two States that do not provide religious or philosophical exemptions for vaccines.
"It is utterly disgraceful that WVA would force this vaccine on families, especially when their State law provides no relief to those who object to other vaccines," stated Children of God for Life Executive Director, Debi Vinnedge. "Even if they include an opt-out for Gardasil, such a move would be unconstitutional for parents who have religious objections to other vaccines, such as those using aborted fetal cell lines."
While Gardasil does not utilize aborted fetal cell lines – a primary focus of Children of God for Life, the group noted it raises other moral concerns. And they are not alone. Since Perry's actions last week, numerous family and medical groups agree that this is a family decision for the parents – not the State.
In a statement released Jan 22, the American College of Pediatrics noted that mandating Gardasil for school attendance "is a serious, precedent-setting action" replacing parental medical decision making with government regulations.
Likewise, Focus on the Family warned last year, that state officials, not parents, would become the primary sexual-health decision makers for America's children.
Vinnedge noted, "Mandating Gardasil is like the State mandating condoms for children. And neither one is effective at preventing cervical cancer. The HPV virus's incubation period is 20 years, yet this vaccine was tested for only 4 years. No one knows whether this will prevent cervical cancer at all."
Last year the Associated Press reported the FDA warning that, "any advantage the vaccine provides in protecting against the four virus types could be offset by infection by any of the multiple [over 100] other types of HPV that the vaccine does not cover." The FDA further noted that "the vaccine may lead to an increased number of cases of a cancer precursor among patients already infected by any of the four virus types at the time they receive the vaccine, and whose immune systems have not cleared the virus from their bodies."
"West Virginia is already a quagmire of contention in their antiquated State regulations on vaccines," noted Vinnedge. "If they intend to mandate Gardasil, they must provide an opt-out clause and add religious exemptions for other vaccines as well. Anything less would be a gross infringement on parental rights."
More HPV mandates spreading across the nation ping.
Is the government going to pay for the health care costs of m young girl if she receives this vaccine and becomes ill?
Does not the state have issues with the Federal Government and "unfunded mandates"?
Yer preachin' to the choir, hoppy! I'm totally with you...
There has been no protocol/trial on 9-11 year old girls completed! The are trialing 100 Japanese girls for 7 months starting this past December.
Supposedly, there's been enough fraccas about it this week that it is now going to our legislature, too.
Well, we will see.
Thanks for the ping. This situation makes me really angry. As the mother of three daughters, I can confidently say that my girls won't be getting this vaccine. I don't like the idea of the government telling me she has to and forcing me to "opt out" in order to prevent it. I also don't like the fact that there hasn't been any long term testing done. It is too "iffy" at this point, and even if it weren't, it is my intention to teach my daughters that abstinence is the best option for them for many reasons, not the least of which is our Christianity. I am tired of the government forcing sexual issues on them when I am not there to see.
Good. And let's hope they do the right thing.
That's kind of strange. How did I get warts in 3 months? I certainly didn't have sex when I was 2.
Some FReepers think it's no big deal. I think it's a bigger deal than Merck and the various legislators want us to know.
It's in every state now. Merck wants to get the edge on GlaxoSmithKline, whose product will be ready next year and claims to be better.
I hadn't seen this before, in any of the many threads about this topic. Good question.
Do you believe that vaccines cause autism?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1781585/posts
Earlier today. FReeper beat me to it.
My email going to my delegates, any thoughts before it goes?
I am a resident of _______ and am deeply disturbed at the bill that is being considered mandating the vaccination for the HPV virus. This vaccine has not had nearly the amount of testing, including the tracking of long term effects for this vaccine. There is a far greater chance of a girl having an adverse reaction to the vaccine than getting the cancer, and the side effects include but are not limited to autoimmune phenomena, which is inflammatory arthritis. I am disturbed at the age that we are requiring this vaccine to happen in young girls. The most disturbing part of this bill is the fact that politicians are usurping me as to what is best for my child. There is no opt-out clause with the bill. This is a travesty and I am sure our Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves as we speak. I ask you, as your constituent, to not vote for this bill as it is. This vaccine needs to be an OPT-IN and there should be more long term tracking of this, as I am positive that I am far more concerned for my child than you will ever be.
"This vaccine needs to be an OPT-IN and there should be more long term tracking of this, as I am positive that I am far more concerned for my child than you will ever be."
If you read any of mama texan's posts I'd say you are correct.
This is a good link from nvic.org. We're going to need agency help. I've already stuck my neck out and they know where I live. Not the best handling, IMHO, but I was flaming then, before the talk of taking it to the lege.
http://www.909shot.com/PressReleases/pr62706gardasil.htm
If this were a vaccine for any other disease, I bet 90% of you wouldn't care. This is silly prudery masquerading as genuine concern.
Several news articles have said this is a nation wide push by Merek.
Parents better get busy raising some HE-double L.
(Thanks for the pings, BTW :-)
I'm certainly not a prude, my contention is that the government is forcing a vaccine on everyone because many women do not go to a doctor every year. My sister and two friends had this and it was caught by a routine pap smear. But now the government is mandating this on all because of a few. There approx 150,000,000 women in this country and 4,000 deaths a year. This vaccination mandate is government overkill, again.
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