The HPV Vaccination Should Be The Parent's Decision"Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is a vaccine that targets certain sexually transmitted strains of human papillomavirus associated with the development of cervical cancer and genital warts. Two HPV vaccines are currently on the market: Gardasil and Cervarix" (wikipedia 2007). The HPV vaccines are recommended for girls ages 11-26, who have never been sexually active. The HPV vaccine does not treat cervical cancer, it may prevent cancer. Some states are considering making the HPV vaccination a requirement for girls, before they can attend school. Although, the HPV vaccination has the potential to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts, it should not be a requirement by state law for young girls entering school because this is a decision that should be made by the parents, the disease is not easily transmitted in the school environment, and there is not enough evidence to know whether the HPV vaccination is safe.
The decision of whether or not a young girl should receive the HPV vaccination should be left up to the parents, not the state because it would require young girls to use a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease before they are sexually active. This would interfere with parental influence in the teaching of moral values. Parents would have to talk to their children about sex, because of the vaccination earlier than they would expect. Parents have the right to make decisions about every invasive medical procedure, including all vaccines that are injected in their children.
HPV is not a disease that is transmitted by sitting next to someone in class. It is not an infectious disease that flies through the air with no boundaries. Diseases such as chicken pox, measles, and mumps are communicable diseases that spread if a schoolmate coughs on other schoolmates...
HPV Vaccination
I actually think this essay is quite misleading. Primarily, it appears to suggest that parents have no say in their children accepting this vaccination.
This is certainly not the case in Australia, where children aged up to 18 years of age must have parental consent to receive the vaccine. The government is providing the vaccine free of charge, however it is obviously not compulsory - as is the case with all vaccines available in Australia.
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