So, our blow-dried governor issued his aggressive executive order mandating HPV vaccinations for all Texas schoolgirls (aka "young women" who happen to be ages 11-12).
Some, including yours truly, have been pondering when and how he got this sweeping power in a "weak governor" state. We're also wondering why, from a political point of view, he would want to bypass an in-session Legislature already planning to consider the issue. It's odd.
Now Texas physicians have weighed in, clearly sceptical about whether the time is right.
Gov. Rick Perry's order requiring schoolgirls to get inoculated against a sexually transmitted virus linked to cervical cancer may be unpopular with social conservatives, but another important group also is lining up against it: doctors.From, among others, the Texas Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, many doctors are saying it's too early to mandate the vaccine, which was approved for use last June. It protects against four strains of the human papillomavirus that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers.
"We support physicians being able to provide the vaccine, but we don't support a state mandate at this time," said Dr. Bill Hinchey, a San Antonio pathologist and president-elect of the TMA, which represents 41,000 physicians. "There are issues, such as liability and cost, that need to be vetted first."
Other reasons cited by doctors in Texas and across the country include the vaccine's newness; supply and distribution considerations; the possibility opposition could snowball and lead to a reduction in other immunizations; the possibility it could lull women into not going for still-necessary cervical cancer screenings; gender-equity issues; and the tradition of vaccines starting as voluntary and becoming mandatory after a need is demonstrated....
[E]ducation needs to come first," said Dr. Joseph Bocchini, chairman of the AAP's committee on infectious disease. "Much of the public doesn't know about HPV and its link to cervical cancer and other diseases. You can't put a mandate ahead of that."
These are valid issues, as are concerns about executive vs. legislative power.
What isn't valid are the objections of professional right-wing complainers (e.g., on local radio station KSEV) who believe, or at least proclaim, that an HPV vaccine is some kind of depraved license for youngsters to have sex or that parents should just depend on faith in their own ability to morally mold their children.
An STD shouldn't carry the death penalty, period.