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Perry's HPV vaccine order draws backlash from GOP
Some lawmakers receiving angry messages about mandate requiring vaccinations for girls.
By Corrie MacLaggan
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Key lawmakers from Gov. Rick Perry's own Republican Party on Monday called on him to rescind his executive order making Texas the first state to require sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
"The public has a right to testify on this issue, and the Legislature has a constitutional duty to be involved in this decision," said state Sen. Jane Nelson of Lewisville, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
At the Capitol on Monday, opposition grew against the governor's order Friday to require the human papilloma- virus vaccine for girls starting in September 2008. Lawmakers who said their offices were inundated with angry calls and e-mails from constituents over the weekend rushed to file bills that would override the governor's order, which they said revokes parental rights and could encourage young girls to be promiscuous. The governor, however, stood firm.
"Providing the HPV vaccine doesn't promote sexual promiscuity any more than the Hepatitis B vaccine promotes drug use," Perry said Monday. "If the medical community developed a vaccine for lung cancer, would the same critics oppose it, claiming it would encourage smoking?"
The governor's mandate has drawn enthusiastic support from some lawmakers, including two Democrats who had proposed similar requirements: state Rep. Jessica Farrar of Houston and state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio.
But Perry's moved to bypass the Legislature left Nelson "absolutely stunned." Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he didn't see it coming, either.
"I think while the HPV vaccine can play a very important role in preventing cervical cancer, I don't think government should ever presume to know better than the parents," said Dewhurst, who said he wants to work with Perry and the Legislature on a program that parents can opt into. The executive order allows parents to opt out.
The Texas Medical Association isn't taking a stand on whether the vaccine should be required, but the group's physicians support providing the vaccine because it can prevent a cancer, said Dr. Bill Hinchey, president-elect of the group.
"A vaccine is a much less expensive method to do that than treating cervical cancer," Hinchey said.
The position of the American Academy of Pediatrics is that it's too early to consider mandates, said Dr. Joseph Bocchini, chairman of the academy's infectious diseases committee.
"We're very much in favor of this vaccine for routine use in girls and women up to age 26," said Bocchini, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. But he added that the need now is for educating the public on the benefits of the vaccine.
State Sen. Bob Deuell, a Greenville Republican who is also a medical doctor, said the decision to get the vaccine should be between a physician and a patient.
The vaccine, Gardasil, was approved by federal officials in June. It protects against types of HPV that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Merck, the company that makes the vaccine, has been lobbying lawmakers around the country to mandate the vaccine. Another vaccine is being developed by GlaxoSmithKline.
Nelson and state Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, have asked the state attorney general to rule on the legality of Perry's order.
Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, and Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, on Monday filed bills to override the executive order, and some lawmakers have suggested getting around the order by refusing to fund it, said state Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola. Perry's staff members estimate that it would cost $71.7 million a year to pay for the shots for low-income Texans.
The retail price of the three-dose series is $360, according to the CDC. A federal immunization panel recommends the vaccine for 11- and 12-year-old girls, and most insurance plans cover vaccines on the panel's list. However, it might take some time for plans to cover newly approved vaccines.
"I've heard from people back home . . . who are furious about it," Hughes said. "There is some question as to a governor's authority to issue an executive order like this that spends money. That is normally the purview of the Legislature."
Perry has never rescinded an executive order, spokeswoman Krista Moody said.
State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, said that she hasn't had a chance to fully take the pulse of her constituents but that "as a nurse and someone concerned about health, I commend the governor for this step."
Marcela Contreras of South Austin, who has a 23-year-old daughter, said that if her daughter were younger, she would talk to her about not having sex before allowing her to get the vaccine.
"I sure wouldn't want my kid to be sexually active at that age," Contreras said. "There's always that feeling in the back of your mind any time you tell children about sex, or anything, that they're going to think that you're condoning it."
My biggest fear is that the evil bastard gets there the way Bam Bam did. On the " any one but him" vote.
Site Web Archive
Web Search by YAHOO!
News News feed
Virtual Capitol
State
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StatesmanWatch
Database Central
Last 7 days
Perry's HPV vaccine order draws backlash from GOP
Some lawmakers receiving angry messages about mandate requiring vaccinations for girls.
By Corrie MacLaggan
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Key lawmakers from Gov. Rick Perry's own Republican Party on Monday called on him to rescind his executive order making Texas the first state to require sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
"The public has a right to testify on this issue, and the Legislature has a constitutional duty to be involved in this decision," said state Sen. Jane Nelson of Lewisville, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
At the Capitol on Monday, opposition grew against the governor's order Friday to require the human papilloma- virus vaccine for girls starting in September 2008. Lawmakers who said their offices were inundated with angry calls and e-mails from constituents over the weekend rushed to file bills that would override the governor's order, which they said revokes parental rights and could encourage young girls to be promiscuous. The governor, however, stood firm.
"Providing the HPV vaccine doesn't promote sexual promiscuity any more than the Hepatitis B vaccine promotes drug use," Perry said Monday. "If the medical community developed a vaccine for lung cancer, would the same critics oppose it, claiming it would encourage smoking?"
The governor's mandate has drawn enthusiastic support from some lawmakers, including two Democrats who had proposed similar requirements: state Rep. Jessica Farrar of Houston and state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio.
But Perry's moved to bypass the Legislature left Nelson "absolutely stunned." Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he didn't see it coming, either.
"I think while the HPV vaccine can play a very important role in preventing cervical cancer, I don't think government should ever presume to know better than the parents," said Dewhurst, who said he wants to work with Perry and the Legislature on a program that parents can opt into. The executive order allows parents to opt out.
The Texas Medical Association isn't taking a stand on whether the vaccine should be required, but the group's physicians support providing the vaccine because it can prevent a cancer, said Dr. Bill Hinchey, president-elect of the group.
"A vaccine is a much less expensive method to do that than treating cervical cancer," Hinchey said.
The position of the American Academy of Pediatrics is that it's too early to consider mandates, said Dr. Joseph Bocchini, chairman of the academy's infectious diseases committee.
"We're very much in favor of this vaccine for routine use in girls and women up to age 26," said Bocchini, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. But he added that the need now is for educating the public on the benefits of the vaccine.
State Sen. Bob Deuell, a Greenville Republican who is also a medical doctor, said the decision to get the vaccine should be between a physician and a patient.
The vaccine, Gardasil, was approved by federal officials in June. It protects against types of HPV that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Merck, the company that makes the vaccine, has been lobbying lawmakers around the country to mandate the vaccine. Another vaccine is being developed by GlaxoSmithKline.
Nelson and state Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, have asked the state attorney general to rule on the legality of Perry's order.
Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, and Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, on Monday filed bills to override the executive order, and some lawmakers have suggested getting around the order by refusing to fund it, said state Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola. Perry's staff members estimate that it would cost $71.7 million a year to pay for the shots for low-income Texans.
The retail price of the three-dose series is $360, according to the CDC. A federal immunization panel recommends the vaccine for 11- and 12-year-old girls, and most insurance plans cover vaccines on the panel's list. However, it might take some time for plans to cover newly approved vaccines.
"I've heard from people back home . . . who are furious about it," Hughes said. "There is some question as to a governor's authority to issue an executive order like this that spends money. That is normally the purview of the Legislature."
Perry has never rescinded an executive order, spokeswoman Krista Moody said.
State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, said that she hasn't had a chance to fully take the pulse of her constituents but that "as a nurse and someone concerned about health, I commend the governor for this step."
Marcela Contreras of South Austin, who has a 23-year-old daughter, said that if her daughter were younger, she would talk to her about not having sex before allowing her to get the vaccine.
"I sure wouldn't want my kid to be sexually active at that age," Contreras said. "There's always that feeling in the back of your mind any time you tell children about sex, or anything, that they're going to think that you're condoning it."
My biggest fear is that the evil bastard gets there the way Bam Bam did. On the " any one but him" vote.
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