WASHINGTON – Four years ago, Gov. Rick Perry put aside his social conservative bona fides and signed an order requiring Texas girls to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus. He says he was trying to curb cancer. But it didn't take long for angry conservatives in the Legislature to override a measure they thought tacitly approved premarital sex, and for critics to accuse Perry of cronyism.
Now Perry's taking heat on the issue anew as he runs for the presidential nomination of a GOP heavily influenced by conservatives who are sour on the government dictating health care requirements. Illustrating the delicate politics at play, he's both defending himself and calling his action a mistake.
"If I had it to do over again, I would have done it differently," Perry said Tuesday night as he debated his rivals, insisting that he would have worked with the Legislature instead of unilaterally acting. But he did not back down from his stance that girls should be vaccinated against the virus, which is generally spread by sexual contact. He argued that it wasn't a mandate and noted that he included the right for parents to opt out of the vaccinations.
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Perry was working for his bosses, the Pharmaceutical Industry.
ReplyDeleteMandatory vaccines are nothing new. I'm old enough to remember the small pox vaccine. One could not enter 1st grade without it.
ReplyDeleteThe county health department came to our elementary school and administered the polio vaccine to all.
I could name others as well.
Why would one not want his/her daughter protected from HPV? While the young lady may have been chaste, her new husband may not have been. Think about it.
Mandatory vaccinations in school are to protect other children from airborn viruses. Making the HPV vaccine mandatory is not at all like making small pox or polio vaccine mandatory.
ReplyDeleteIf a young woman wants to be protected from her potential future husband, she has the option on her own to get the vaccine, but it should not be forced on her by the government.