Texas governor orders STD vaccine for all girls

Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:21 pm » by **Blaborde1488**

AUSTIN, Texas — 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.

Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21.

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..Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base. But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different from the one that protects children against polio.

“The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer,” Perry said.

Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.

Perry tied to Merck
Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company’s three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff. His current chief of staff’s mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.

The governor also received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his re-election campaign.

The order is effective until Perry or a successor changes it, and the Legislature has no authority to repeal it, said Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody. Moody said the Texas Constitution permits the governor, as head of the executive branch, to order other members of the executive branch to adopt rules like this one.

Legislative aides said they are looking for ways around the order for parents who oppose it.

“He’s circumventing the will of the people,” said Dawn Richardson, president of Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education, a citizens group that fought for the right to opt out of other vaccine requirements. “There are bills filed. There’s no emergency except in the boardrooms of Merck, where this is failing to gain the support that they had expected.”

Opt-out option for parents
Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit objecting to the vaccine on religious or philosophical reasons. Even with such provisions, however, conservative groups say such requirements interfere with parents’ rights to make medical decisions for their children.

The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.

The New Jersey-based drug company could generate billions in sales if Gardasil — at $360 for the three-shot regimen — were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects.

Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore would not say how much the company is spending on lobbyists or how much it has donated to Women in Government. Susan Crosby, the group’s president, also declined to specify how much the drug company gave.

A top official from Merck’s vaccine division sits on Women in Government’s business council, and many of the bills around the country have been introduced by members of Women in Government.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16948093/ns ... all-girls/

Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:23 pm » by **Boondox681**

i don't agree with the gov. decision.

Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:26 pm » by **Blaborde1488**

I don't agree with any forced vaccines.

Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:30 pm » by **Pitchke**

Well iff all of the poisons are out of that vaccin, and it is safe. Maybee... When its not forced

Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:40 pm » by **Boondox681**

I don't agree with any forced vaccines.

i agree with you 100%

Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:41 pm » by **Explorer**

What kind of insanity is this? And will people allow this?
I don't live there but a political governor has no qualifications or the right to do this.
The people that ARE qualified have no say? The parents, the doctors and the girls themselves have no control on they own human life?
This is a guy who wants to be Potus and protect you from yourselves.
Sorry, I cannot fathom the intelligence of your leaders. With this attitude , they need padded rooms.
nwo new religion: now who's your daddy?
[rant of the year] Peace!

Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:51 pm » by **Blaborde1488**

WATCH THIS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fv ... uaoNw&NR=1

Wed Aug 17, 2011 9:02 pm » by **Rydher**

This is old news from 2007 I think? He did allow for waivers for anyone that didn't want it, so WTF was the point? All of this will come out again the closer the election gets. Rick Perry is not getting my vote, not only due to this but many other things he has done that I find him to be phony and using the "Tea Party" to get elected. Thankfully, he only has about 30% or so of self described Tea Party citizens support. I foresee, hopefully, that percentage going way down as time goes on.

Wed Aug 17, 2011 9:29 pm » by **Muchtyman**

Yep ...........Rick is the Man .

Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:13 pm » by **Mrmcnuggets**

So what's the decision going to be when Texas is no longer able to have children cause all the females be dead...