On Friday, Texas Governor Rick Perry ordered all the young girls in his state to be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.  With this order, Texas becomes the first state in the country to mandate these controversial shots.

Merck, the maker of the vaccine, has pushed for laws requiring all school age girls to be vaccinated with their product.  Merck is marketing the vaccine under the name Gardasil, a series of three injections at a cost of $350 for all three shots.

Gardasil can prevent many forms of cervical cancer caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV.  There are side effects to the drug, and long term effects of the vaccine are still untested.

Merck is pushing for legislation across the country that mandates every school age girl as young as eleven receive HPV vaccination shots. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year approved the vaccine for girls aged nine.

News reports claim that if Merck is successful, they stand to make billions of dollars each year as a result of the requirement.  Pro-family groups have been cautioning against mandates for any drug, especially one that guards against a disease that is caused by a sexually transmitted virus because such mandates undermine  parental rights.

Tests on the new vaccine have been limited.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, the vaccine can protect women from HPV for only five years.  Since the long-term effect of the vaccine is not known at this time, Merck has indicated that a booster shot may be necessary, driving up the cost of the drug even further.  Consequently, most girls would not be sexually active before the vaccine wears off. Parents and government will likely have to unnecessarily pay for the vaccine twice.

Critics of mandating the HPV vaccine have also pointed out that other vaccines (that are not required) will protect even more women and children.  For example, the airborne flu virus is estimated to kill over 60,000 people every year in the United States, as opposed to 4,000 every year from cervical cancer, which is caused by the sexually transmitted HPV.  The flu vaccine is not required.

Last week, Concerned Women for America sent out the following statement regarding the HPV vaccine and the many state bills mandating the vaccination of young girls:

“Concerned Women for America does not object to the new vaccine that protects against certain strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer in women.  Proponents of the vaccine, however, wrongly wish to compel every young girl from 9-11 years old to be vaccinated before she attends school.

“Concerned Women for America is committed to support, protect, and advocate the God-given right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children.  Parents know what is best for their daughters and if given the information about this disease will make the best decision for the health of their child.  Therefore, we urge lawmakers to resist mandating this vaccine.”

“Educate parents about all the risks of HPV and the vaccine.  Enable parents in lower economic levels to have the vaccine available with government funding,” said Anne Hettinger of Concerned Women for America of Texas.  But the Governor of Texas has gone far beyond that.  With the stroke of his pen, parents have been coerced into compliance unless they can convince the bureaucracy otherwise.  The burden of proof should not be on parents.”

In the Texas order, there is a so-called “Opt-Out” provision for parents who do not want their children to be given the shots for “religious and philosophical” reasons.  This provision still demands that parents give government officials reasons as to why they object to the vaccine.

“I think everyone needs to be reminded that this is a disease that is not contagious,” said Michelle Newman of Concerned Women for America of Virginia.  Virginia is facing legislation that will mandate that every young girl in the state be vaccinated.  “You can’t get this by sneezing on someone.”

Merck has spent millions of dollars across the country in an effort to get its product into the bloodstreams of American children.  According to Bloomberg News Service (BNS), Merck began its campaign to raise awareness of the vaccine among state lawmakers even before it gained approval last year and encouraged them to require the vaccine for children.  BNS also reports that this new product is capable of generating as much $3 billion in annual sales for Merck and its shareholders.  In just the fourth quarter of last year, revenue from Gardasil was reported to reach $155 million.  The Associated Press (AP) reports that Governor Perry has received $6,000 from Merck’s Political Action Committee.

For his part, Governor Perry has been reported to say in the past that he sees no difference in the HPV vaccine and the one that protects children against polio.  In an AP report, Governor Perry was quoted as saying, “If there are diseases in our society that are going to cost us larger amounts of money, it just makes good economic sense, not to mention the health and well being of these individuals, to have those vaccines available.”

With Governor Rick Perry’s order on Friday to mandate that every 11-12 year old girl in Texas be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted HPV virus, it appears that he has changed course and no longer believes it should be made available, but instead be forced upon Texas school children.