Government is the virus in need of a vaccine

During the last legislative session, State Senator Gilda Jacobs co-sponsored a bill requiring all sixth grade girls to be immunized against the human papilloma virus (HPV), a leading cause of cervical cancer. This bill was defeated in the closing days of the session. Recent news reports suggest that Jacobs may re-introduce the bill when the new legislature is sworn in. Unfortunately, this bill is another example of government intruding on our rights.

Requiring children to be vaccinated against diseases such as mumps, measles or chicken pox before attending a public school can be justified by the contagious nature of the viruses that cause them since transmission can occur with casual contact. This is not the case with HPV. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, transmission requires a level of intimate contact unlikely to occur in school. Because casual contact does not pass the virus, it cannot be classified as a public health threat. Instead, it is a personal health issue best handled by parents.

Those supporting the bill claim it protects individual rights by offering parents the opportunity to “opt out” of the requirement by submitting approved paperwork. By simply completing a form, they say, you will be permitted to avoid the vaccination. How disturbing that many politicians believe they have the authority to require us to get permission to exercise our parental rights as caregivers to our children.

Too bad there’s not a vaccine against the “nanny” virus that seems to have infected Jacobs and other meddling politicians.

[Letter to the Editor - Farmington Observer. Published 01/11/2007.]