California bill would mandate STD vaccine for sixth grade girls
Allie Martin, OneNewsNow.com
March 16, 2007

A proposed bill in the California State Assembly would require young girls to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease, but pro-family activist Randy Thomasson insists the bill is flawed. The bill, AB 16, would mandate that, before entering sixth grade, girls receive vaccination against the STD commonly known as HPV (human papillomavirus).

HPV is the cause of almost all cases of cervical cancer, according to the National Women’s Health Resource Center. In 2005, about 10,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer in the United States.

But Thomasson, president of the Sacramento-based Campaign for Children and Families, says AB 16 usurps parental rights. He further contends that the proposed vaccination would not comprehensively protect women from the consequences of HPV. One point of debate is that it would not protect against all strains of HPV or all types of cervical cancer. He believes if lawmakers were truly concerned about women’s health, they would emphasize health education.

“We need to be advocating sexual cleanliness for teenagers,” Thomasson says, “pap smears on an annual basis for women. And we should not be mandating a vaccine upon parents of 11-year-old girls. We should simply be offering it. This bill is turning a lot of parents off because it’s forcing them to talk to their children about sex before the parents want to.”

AB 16 was introduced in December 2006. (On March 13), AB 16 was tabled in an Assembly committee after legislators on both sides of the aisle found elements of the bill unacceptable.

“Democrats didn’t like the fact that it was a mandate without the funds being available,” Thomasson says. “Republican lawmakers were concerned that the bill did not require parental permission, and that parents would be kept in the dark about the shortcomings of the vaccine.”

If passed, AB 16 would make California the first state to mandate an HPV vaccine. Thomasson says at the very least, the bill should be amended to allow for parental permission before a vaccine is given.