Governor Rick Perry announced today that he will not veto the bill put forth by the legislature revoking Perry's executive order that would have mandated all incoming sixth graders receive the HPV vaccine. In a rare case of doing something right, the legislature was reacting to overwhelming public pressure opposing the order.
The executive order was cronyism at its finest; vaccine manufacturer Merck had spent a lot of good money on the Perry campaign; money that would have netted them a pretty hefty windfall had they succeeded. Perry's order ignored the taxpayers, it ignored the legislators, and it ignored anything even remotely resembling decency from someone who dared call themselves a public servant.
Proponents of the vaccine's mandatory status will point to the number of deaths from cervical cancer that could have arguably been prevented by the vaccine. They will rightly point out that this vaccine has great promise in preventing ONE cause of cervical cancer, and that it has benefits in that regard.
What they will NOT tell you is that there is no reason to make this vaccine mandatory. School vaccines are required for one reason: because students are confined in an enclosed space, there is an increased risk of exposure to a disease simply beause of sharing space. HPV is not an airborne virus, it is transmitted through sexual activity, and, frankly, if there is a risk of transmitting HPV in our public schools, we have WAY bigger things to worry about than the possibility of getting cervical cancer through exposure.
I have always contended that parents, not the government, should make medical decisions for their kids. While there are compelling reasons why this vaccine should be available, it should NOT be made mandatory, and it definitely should not have become so without even consulting the public.
As the father of four girls, I will almost certainly discuss options such as the HPV in the same way as I discuss options like birth control. Like many parents, I genuinely hope my daughters save themselves for marriage. There are a whole lot of physical, mental and emotional consequences that they could suffer that are FAR worse than any threat HPV presents, though, and those concern me even more than the risk of cervical cancer. Ultimately, though, there's very little I can do but allow them to make certain choices and hope I've taught them right.
Rick Perry's attempted end around the state legislature resulted in a sack. He did not speak for the majority of Texans, and even the elected officials were quick to realize that much. The sad part of it is, the very public failure of his attempt to force vaccination on Texas' schoolchildren may reflect negatively on the vaccine itself, a vaccine that may hold great promise in saving lives.
But even with all that promise, it should never have been forced on us. And I, for one, thank the legislature for agreeing.