WARNING Political Rant: Rick Perry is a Monkey's Butt
I woke up this morning to find that Texas had made the national news...again. This time, for some half-cocked, hair-brain idea of our governor Rick Perry. Evidently, on Friday he issued an executive order forcing all Texas girls entering the 6th grade to receive Gardasil, the HPV vaccine.
First off, I oppose the way that the executive order effectively circumvents the legislative process and usurps the authority of all the elected representatives that you and I put into office. I mean, the whole point of having a state government is so that we have a body that debates and decides on bills, hopefully taking into account the values and concerns of their constituency. Perry's willingness to sidestep the legislative process (especially on such a controversial issue) is disappointing and disconcerting.
Second, what kind of morons would we be to give our children a vaccine that has been on the market for less than a year?!? (And for a STD that they may or may not contract and if contracted may or may not lead to cervical cancer). In my opinion, we don't have enough information about the vaccine to know if it is safe. We do not know what may be the fallout for a drug so new.
And, finally, HPV is a sexually transmitted disease... it's not like whopping cough or chicken pox that any child could be exposed to. A 6th grader would have to be involved in some already risky behavior to even come into contact with HPV. If this were a vaccine recommended for adults, I doubt the government would be unilaterally taking on this decision making role. I personally would have to assess my own risk before deciding whether to take a vaccine for an STD. Why, then, is Perry taking away the right of a parent to make medical decisions for their own children?
There are several groups speaking out against Perry's little shenanigans. Of course, I have been firing off letters right and left to anyone I can think of that might have some impact. I can only hope that we will be successful in our efforts.
First off, I oppose the way that the executive order effectively circumvents the legislative process and usurps the authority of all the elected representatives that you and I put into office. I mean, the whole point of having a state government is so that we have a body that debates and decides on bills, hopefully taking into account the values and concerns of their constituency. Perry's willingness to sidestep the legislative process (especially on such a controversial issue) is disappointing and disconcerting.
Second, what kind of morons would we be to give our children a vaccine that has been on the market for less than a year?!? (And for a STD that they may or may not contract and if contracted may or may not lead to cervical cancer). In my opinion, we don't have enough information about the vaccine to know if it is safe. We do not know what may be the fallout for a drug so new.
And, finally, HPV is a sexually transmitted disease... it's not like whopping cough or chicken pox that any child could be exposed to. A 6th grader would have to be involved in some already risky behavior to even come into contact with HPV. If this were a vaccine recommended for adults, I doubt the government would be unilaterally taking on this decision making role. I personally would have to assess my own risk before deciding whether to take a vaccine for an STD. Why, then, is Perry taking away the right of a parent to make medical decisions for their own children?
There are several groups speaking out against Perry's little shenanigans. Of course, I have been firing off letters right and left to anyone I can think of that might have some impact. I can only hope that we will be successful in our efforts.
posted by Cook Clan News at 1:24 PM
1 Comments:
I couldn't agree anymore. It was very wrong and I'm glad Congress opposed it. We'll have to fight it again in a few years. Nikole
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