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Newsroom |
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The News
Your Florida Family Policy Council (FFPC) is often
in the center of the pro-family
debate in this state and involved with the most
recent issues that are important to
you. The following are some recent news clips of
FFPC’s involvement which has made the news.
 | |  | Cervical cancer vaccine for middle school girls debated | | Herald Tribune - Feburary 24, 2007 | | | David Royse | | TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Creston Nelson-Morill would have no problem if her daughter were required to get a shot that could prevent cervical cancer to attend school.
In fact, the only reason Nelson-Morill hasn't had her 16-year-old daughter vaccinated against the human papilloma virus already is that she's in the process of changing insurance companies and the shot is expensive - more than $300 for the three-shot regimen. When she gets her new policy, she'll have her daughter at the doctor's office.
"That will be one of the first orders of business," said Nelson-Morill, a communications coordinator for a trade association in Tallahassee. "I would be doing it because it is a way to prevent an incredibly insidious disease."
State lawmakers are considering adding the vaccine to the battery of shots that 11- and 12-year-old girls must get before being allowed to attend school. For many parents, the new vaccine is a godsend.
But for others, the question isn't so simple. That's because the virus, HPV for short, is primarily spread by sexual contact.
Scientists say for the vaccine to be most effective, it must be administered before girls become sexually active - that's why lawmakers are considering requiring it for preteens.
The thought of the government forcing families to vaccinate their preteen daughters against a sexually transmitted disease is at least uncomfortable for many, intrusive for some and a few fear it may even encourage girls to have sex, if the girls think - wrongly - the vaccine protects them from all STDs.
The idea of requiring it is a little disconcerting for parents whose daughters aren't having sex yet, and who don't want to explain why this particular series of shots is needed. Some opponents say they eventually want their daughters to be protected against the disease, but they want to do it on their own schedule.
"I will probably take her to be vaccinated at some point during middle school or early high school when it's appropriate," said Paige Carter-Smith a local government consultant in Tallahassee who would oppose being required to have her 10-year-old daughter vaccinated if the bill became law.
"Why vaccinate a kid for a sexually transmitted disease when she still thinks that kissing is gross?" asked Carter-Smith.
Critics also note that most other vaccines required in schools prevent diseases that can be contracted through everyday activities. Whooping cough, for example, is passed through breathing.
The measures (SB 660, HB 561) under consideration in the Legislature would allow parents to opt out of having their daughters vaccinated. To do so the parent would have to submit to the school proof that they've received information about the connection between HPV and cancer and the availability of a vaccine but have chosen not to receive it.
Even if they do opt out, schools would still be required under the proposal to provide information about the connection between HPV and cervical cancer to 11- and 12-year-old girls, not just their parent.
That worries moms like Carter-Smith.
"It should be the decision of the family when it is appropriate time to have that discussion," she said.
Another issue is cost. While private insurance could be expected to cover the shots for some, if the state requires it, it would have to make it available for free at county health facilities.
But Sen. Mike Fasano, a sponsor in the Senate, said the vaccine's promise is enormous.
"We always wait, hope and pray for that miracle drug," said Fasano, R-New Port Richey. "About 3,700 women died of cervical cancer last year, and if this vaccine was available to them 70 percent would be alive today. Is that wild? That gives you the chills."
Fasano's proposal initially called for the vaccination to begin in fall 2008. But to appease those who say the vaccine is too new to be sure about its safety, he now plans to change his bill to back up the start of the program to fall 2010, after the state Department of Health studies the issue for a few years and writes regulations for it. By then, it may be more widely accepted, Fasano said.
A bill in the House still would start the program in 2008, and its sponsor, Rep. Ed Homan, a Tampa Republican and surgeon, says he still wants to push the idea aggressively.
A requirement for young girls to be vaccinated has already been proposed in more than 20 state legislatures because of a push by the vaccine's maker, Merck & Co. The effort has already been rebuffed in Michigan and withdrawn in Maryland because of the concerns of lawmakers and parents. In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry skipped having legislators change the law altogether and simply ordered the vaccine to be given.
Merck said recently that it was suspending its lobbying campaign to have states require the vaccine for school admission, saying the controversy is a distraction from its larger goal of making the vaccine as widely available as possible.
Opponents have generally said it shouldn't be forced on parents.
The Florida Catholic Conference doesn't oppose the vaccine, but would rather make it voluntary.
"If they want to get it, they should be able to opt in," said Michael Sheedy, a lobbyist for the Catholic Conference. "You just don't want to do anything to give kids the idea that this protects you from everything sexually and encourages at-risk behavior."
Cindy Campbell, a stay-at-home mom in Tallahassee, does have some reservations about requiring children to get new vaccinations. But she thinks it's great that the vaccine is available, and said it won't make her 10-year-old daughter more likely to start having sex.
"Giving her this vaccine is not going to make her think it's OK to do whatever she wants," Campbell said. "We're going to bring her up with a moral responsibility otherwise - that's my job as a parent."
Fasano also rejects the argument that the vaccine could encourage sex.
"Every child has to have a tetanus shot," Fasano said. "Does that mean we are telling them they should go out and step on every rusty nail they can find? No.
"This is where the parents come in, this is where your family comes in, this is where education comes in," Fasano added. "Abstinence should still be taught to our children. But here's an opportunity to save lives. That's the bottom line to me."
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