Fight AB 16
That wacky and dangerous California Assembly is at it again with AB 16. This time they are attempting to usurp parental rights by requiring that all girls entering 6th grade show proof of having received the new HPV vaccine that purports to protect women from cervical cancer contracted via the HPV virus.
Several issues need to be highlighted here. First, the HPV vaccine has only been approved last year. No long term studies have been done, so no one reallly knows what long term effects might crop up, possibly even fertility effects.
Second, one of the creators of the vaccine, Dr. Diane M. Harper, has stated that the vaccine wasn't created for use by younger women. She basically said that to administer this vaccine to every 6th grader would essentially be a "great big public health experiment." I don't know about you, but I don't want my daughter used as a guinea pig.
Third, HPV, the major cause of cervical cancer, is only caught by sexual contact. This is not something, one hopes, that a child could pick up in a classroom! To force parents to vaccinate their children against a sexually transmitted disease is to disregard parents' values and beliefs. For an excellent analysis of this, please check out Fr. Euteneuer's recent article Dictatorship of Choice.
Now, some people will add here that, as with other required vaccines, parents can sign a form to legally opt out of receiving this vaccine. While this is true, thank goodness, it obscures the fact that very few parents know this, and AB 16 would specifically remove the normal parental notification of this fact. This really demonstates how little faith legislators place in parents' ability to discern what is best for their own children. Parents must be manipulated and forced into doing the "right" thing. And it forces California's children to become guinea pigs is a massive public health experiment.
There are more issues. A minimum of three $120 shots would be required, who will pay for this mandate? The vaccine is about 70% effective in adults, will the vaccine encourage sexual activity and actually increase the cases of cervical cancer in young women, particularly if the vaccine ends up being less effective for girls? However, what I've mentioned here ought to be enough to make the case against AB 16.
If you live in California, please call your legislator and voice your opposition to AB 16.