I’m still reeling from the Tea Party debate. My favorite was Bachmann’s rant about all the innocent little girls who are now irreparably immune to a carcinogenic virus, because the government won’t allow them the freedom to get cervical cancer.Oh, this made me laugh so wickedly!
So true, so true.
I don't know how Bachmann can go on about government mandated injections by executive order as if the majority of the nation's children don't already get those between the ages of 0 and 18. They're called vaccines and they have saved millions of lives over the years.
The objection about this vaccine revolves solely around the fact that it is for a sexually transmitted virus. That freaks people out. However, even if your daughter remains pristine and virginal, there is no guarantee that her future spouse will have remained that way, or that her future spouse won't cheat on her, or that she won't make a mistake and give into temptation at some point.
This is one of those times when people shouldn't let their worries and hang-ups trump the future health of their children.
4 comments:
I'm no fan of bachmann or the tea party and didn't watch the talks. I'm not really knowledgeable about the HPV vaccine. My only concern would be about the risk of side-effects/long term effects, and whether the immuno-compromised would be exempt. I thought there were some issues with this particular vaccine, but I could be wrong.
I imagine that if the HPV is still optional when my dd becomes a teenager, we will opt for it as long as the risk are negligible...for the very reasons you stated. You can't be 100% certain of avoiding exposure even if you do practice abstinence and marry a virgin. My FIL and my cousin committed adultery...you would have never guessed it and the poor wife is the one that must suffer two-fold due to divorce and increased HPV risk. Additionally, I've always wondered what the risk of HPV transmission is at all those yearly GYN apts and cervical checks during pregnancy.
Well, there are many different strains of HPV, most of them are not sexually transmitted. If you have ever had a wart, then you probably have HPV, not the sexually transmitted strain. But, that's how common HPV strains are. They are everywhere.
The HPV vaccine targets only a few of the HPV strains that are sexually transmitted and are known to cause cervical cancer. The reason they give it to girls so early is because HPV is so prevalent in the population that even if a girl is only minorly sexually active, say one or two partners in her lifetime, the chances are high that she may be exposed...and there are often no real symptoms to indicate that.
Doctors assume that 12 year olds aren't having sex yet...so it is a prime time to preventively vaccinate young women.
I don't think anyone has to worry about yearly GYN appts. They should be sanitizing any equipment as a matter of course anyway...and if they aren't well HPV is probably the least of a patient's concerns at an office like that!
;-)
The thing that makes this so controversial is the how the disease is transmitted. We're not talking about a disease that you get by simply being in the same room or touching a door handle/phone. We're talking about something that a person willfully opted into-- having sexual relations.
For the government to say "you must have his because you will have sex" is for the government to be a nanny, rather than to offer a solution.
It's true that many would opt to have the shot, and that's fine. What Bachmann and the other Republicans are speaking out about is the fact that government mandated it.
"For the government to say "you must have his because you will have sex" is for the government to be a nanny, rather than to offer a solution."
I don't understand this. There is a solution....the vaccine for HPV.
HPV is active in about 15% of the population at any given time. That's 15 people out of one hundred. That is a very high rate for a disease, especially when compared to other STD's. It is very, very common, and while the more partners you have the higher the likelihood you will be exposed to HPV, it doesn't take very a promiscuous person to get it.
Everyone reaching adulthood will eventually have sex, whether it's through a happy marriage, or before marriage, most healthy persons will have sex.
The when and where isn't that important in terms of the vaccine and cancer prevention.
Min, I attended conservative, evangelical, sometimes Southern Baptist churches for a very long time. I can't tell you the amount of times that someone in the church, pastors included, were discovered to have had affairs. Even in church it isn't that uncommon.
The statistics for infidelity vary somewhere between 30%-60% for married couples. That is very high.
A person can do everything "right" and be undone by an unfaithful partner.
Post a Comment