Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's amendment would eliminate the need for parents or guardians to submit written requests for their children to opt out of the vaccine, called Gardasil.
"While I believe that this vaccine shows great promise for preventing cancer, I believe that the decision to administer this vaccine should be made by parents," Kaine said in a statement.
I believe this is a very reasonable approach. As I wrote here, the decision to vaccinate does not belong to the state.
1 comment:
Hi, Denise.
I agree with you that this is fundamentally a parenting (rather than a state) decision. And yet, I've found it puzzling to hear the ire with which some voices in the Catholic community have been denouncing this vaccine ... It seems to me that there are some very good reasons for protecting a young woman in this way that have nothing to do with promiscuity. First, the likelihood of her future husband having had some kind of genital contact prior to marriage; second, the prevalence of sexual assault. I have an article coming out about this in Catholic Exchange in May ... I'd welcome your weighing in to the "exchange" if you happen to catch it. Blessings-- Heidi Saxton (heidihesssaxton.blogspot.com)
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