HPV vaccine will reduce cancer risk

I must say I completely agree with Brittany Hite in the importance of the new HPV vaccine. Texas recently became the first state to make the HPV vaccine mandatory for schoolgirls. This move will not only decrease the 3,700 deaths caused by cervical cancer yearly, but it will ensure that lower-income Texans receive the health care necessary to prevent contracting HPV, the most common STD in the world.\nSome who oppose the vaccine say it promotes promiscuity. If the HPV vaccine promotes sexual activity, then what about condoms and birth control? Should we eliminate those also? Others say no parent should be forced to give their 9-year-old in pigtails a vaccine against an STD. But in Texas, parents can opt out of inoculations for religious or philosophical reasons.\nFor whatever reasons that Christian conservatives or parents have for opposing the HPV vaccine, the bottom line is that these “negatives” are less of an issue than the positives. With more than 6 million Americans infected with HPV yearly, a vaccine that is virtually risk-free and also protects against vaginal warts makes a whole lot of sense.\nWelcome to the 21st century. We now have the ability to heal, cure, vaccinate and completely eliminate a disease that kills women. Who would actually deny their own daughter this life-saving gift? Unfortunately, Christian conservatives seem to make medical decisions based on condemnatory personal beliefs rather than fact and science. Religious values should affect FDA approval no more than we should deny that teenagers make unwise decisions when it comes to sex.\nThe HPV vaccine may have a number of opponents, but in the end it’s our best shot in the fight against cervical cancer.\nAmanda Dorman\nStudent