Texas Forces Sex Vaccine On Children

Texas has become the first state in the nation to require schoolgirls to be vaccinated with Merck & Co.'s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in order to be allowed in school. HPV's are transmitted only by sexual contact. One result can be cervical cancer. The drug is called Gardasil.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry by-passed the Legislature & signed an Executive Order mandating the vaccinations before the Sept 2008 school year. The vaccination will be required for all 11-12 year old girls. There is an exemption for parents on religious grounds. The 3-shot series will cost $360.
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We have serious, serious problems with this. The vaccination program was by fiat of the Governor. It wasn't voted on by the peoples representatives - the Legislature. Perry expressed his concern about women who contract cervical cancer, yet percentage-wise the rate is low & has been dropping. The FDA recently approved the drug, but there have been no long-term studies on the drug's effects, especially with young children. There have been reports of bad side-effects. Of the 30 types of HPV's, Gardisil only attacks 4 of them.

Since HPV's are not airborne & only contracted through sexual contact, it is no business of the State to make it mandatory. This should be a parents choice. The drug is available to anyone who wants it on a voluntary basis. We also, along with many parents, think this sends a bad message to teens about sexual activity, along with passing out condoms in schools. It is ridiculous to force parents to pay $360 for a vaccine they have objections to. It would be far better if Perry used his executive orders to mandate flu vaccines - which are not now mandated. More people die of the flu, than cervical cancer.

Beyond this, we see a windfall & conflict of interest for Merck & Co. They are the only producer of the drug & they have been lobbying in Texas & other states for its mandatory use. At $360 a pop, they stand to reap in millions of dollars.

There are also questions about Perry's conflict of interest in this affair. His former chief of staff, Mike Loomey, now is a lobbyist for Merck, and Merck made thousands of dollars in contributions to Perry's re-election campaign. Reports also noted that the mother-in-law of Perry's current chief of staff, Texas Republican State Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government, one of the groups that has received grants to work on the issue of HPV. And Women in Government is, you guessed it, strongly in favor of the vaccine.

And a Merck employee sits on a board for Women in Government, whose members have been responsible for pushing the Merck agenda on the vaccine in various states, reports said.

This stinks of cronyism & quid pro quo.

There are pending bills in the Texas Legislature to stop this Big Brother totalitarianism by Perry. We hope they succeed in stopping this ursurption of parental rights.