I don't know how much publicity this is getting in other parts of the country, but it's all over the news here in Texas. Last week the Texas Governor Rick Perry signed an executive order making it mandatory (as of September 2008) for all girls 11 and 12 years old (6th grade) to receive Gardasil, the vaccine for HPV, an STD that some strains of which can cause cervical cancer.

Link to the CDC site about the vaccine: http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/STDFact-H...ne.htm#hpvvac6
Link to news story about the executive order: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4521884.html

On the surface this may sound like a good idea, a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in women is great right? Sure, but should it really be up to the governor wether our daughters receive this vaccine or not? Several parental rights groups are speaking out about this, as they believe that it should be up to the parents wether or not their daughters get this vaccine. Also, Gardasil does not protect against all strains of the virus that may cause cervical cancer, and it is possible through regular exams to diagnose and treat the virus before it mutates the cells, and prevent the cancer altogether. It's also interesting to note that in his last campaign governor Perry received a substantial contribution from Merck, the company that manufactures the vaccine.

So I guess the question here is... should this vaccine be mandatory, or is the governor stepping over the line?

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