Not Sure How I Feel About This One...

Look, I am all for vaccines that prevent life-threatening diseases and such, but this? MSNBC is reporting that Texas governor Rick Perry (RINO) has passed an executive orderm, sidestepping the legislature, mandating that all girls be vaccinated against HPV, an STD which causes cervical cancer in some cases. That's a horrible disease and no one should have it, but the drug hasn't been on the market that long, and I certainly wouldn't let any daughter of mine take it until it's been out longer and been a little safer. I guess that just means I'd have to be a little more vigilant as a parent in the meantime. This just strikes me as a bit too much government interference in how parents raise their kids at this juncture...we'll just have to see how it plays out.

"Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

By employing an executive order, Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents’ rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children.

Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV."