Mandatory HPV vaccination catching fire nationwide

Earlier last week, I posted that Texas Governor Rick Perry had come under fire for bypassing the legislature and signing an executive order requiring that all female students over 12 years of age be vaccinated for the cervix cancer-causing disease HPV (an STD). Opponents say it encourages young children to have sex, and supporters say it is no different than requiring vaccinations for polio and other conditions. I also mentioned that Colorado and West Virginia were considering the same measure. Since that time, there have been an explosion of filings across the country requiring the vaccinations (or to require parents to send formal notice to the school of their objections).

Pro talking point: Providing the HPV vaccine doesn't promote sexual promiscuity any more than providing the Hepatitis B vaccine promotes drug use.

Con talking point: Mandating this vaccine is troublesome. HPV is not caught by sitting next to someone in class but by sexual contact. Using school laws, which were developed to protect children from communicable diseases like smallpox and measles, to mandate vaccination of a sexually transmitted disease, is to use the end to justify the means.

The 25 states considering legislation on this currently are Washington, California, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and Hawaii (and the District of Columbia). Arkansas is not among them, and I have heard nothing on this issue here (but I do not serve on Public Health).