I refuse to look a young woman in the eye who suffers from this form of cancer and tell her that we could have stopped it but we didn’t. Others may focus on the cause of this cancer. I stay focused on the cure.
These are the words of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, defending his executive order making Gardasil a mandatory vaccination for young girls going into the sixth grade. Gardasil, produced by Merck, prevents women from contracting HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer, through sexual contact. Perry’s right-wing base has slammed the governor for requiring the vaccination, because it allegedly strays from Texas’ abstinence-only sex education policy. This — coupled with a $120 per-shot price tag — has many questioning Perry’s motives.
News Hounds points out some of the ties that Perry has with Merck:
Two of Perry’s former chiefs of staff currently work for Merck, and the mother of one of them is involved in lobbying for this … Has Perry just caved in for Merck? … His former c-o-s is being paid $250,000 by Merck to lobby for this, a Texas state legislator (Diane White Delisi) is pushing for it and working with Merck, and her daughter-in-law is the current chief of staff.
I believe that the vaccine is helpful and that girls should receive it. However, Perry’s unilateral approach suggests that he may be pushing a personal agenda. Texas politicos — Republicans and Democrats alike — are urging him to recall the mandate. Republican state senator Kevin Eltife expressed the same thoughts that I have on the matter when he said,
I am not opposed to the state providing funding for those who want the vaccine, but to mandate the vaccine is government interference at its best. This is an issue that should be taken up by the Legislature and fully debated with input from the public. The issue in no way warrants an executive order.
Perry can’t “look a young woman in the eye,” but he can sign an executive order to mandate an unproven medication that’s been on the market for less than a year? His words say he wants what is best for young girls, but his actions say he wants what is best for him.
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[...] This in the wake of Texas Gov. Rick Perry melodramatically claiming that he “can’t look a young woman in the eye” who contracted cervical cancer because she didn’t have access to Gardasil. If that’s really the case, get off your duff and start fixing our broken healthcare system instead of settling for self-serving photo ops. [...]
students are required to be vaccinated for several diseases, why not cancer? requiring girls to get another shot is not interfering with our civil rights. it’s just protecting us. girls will have sex with or without “permission” from the government. teens have sex every day, sometimes several times a day. why not protect them from things they could contract while doing what they will do either way? they use condoms, take the pill, get a shot. another life saved. i plan to get the shot.
“I refuse to look a young woman in the eye who suffers from this form of cancer and tell her that we could have stopped it but we didn’t. Others may focus on the cause of this cancer. I stay focused on the cure.”
And will he next prohibit all cigarette sales in the state, since this could stop lung cancer?
From someone who has hpv and has just recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer resulting from the virus I wish this vaccine would have been around when I was younger, and mandatory. If it is still around when and if I am able to have children my girls will most definatly get the vaccine mandatory or not. If we have to get vaccinated for Hep. B why not a disease that causes cancer?
I have recently had surgery that helped me defeat cervical cancer from HPV. Had this vaccine been around when i was younger I would have made the choice to have it I’m sure. I suggest it to everyone I know. That being said I can not in good consciousness make a personal medical decision for every girl out there letting my own personal experience cloud my judgment.
There is a lot of information out there regarding the dangers (oh yes the dangers) of vaccines. Once someone is properly educated about the risks at that time they can make a decision… this is not the governments place. It is never the governments place to tell me or anyone else what they MUST do to their bodies.
Gardasil is a waste of money.
Even if the vaccine were 100% effective against the 2 HPV, there are 9-36 more HPV that cause cervical cancer.
Even if 100% effective ALL women will still have to get medical screenings and many vaccinated will still get cervical cancer.
The CDC FDA ACS and Merck all state that over 90% clear ALL HPV naturally.
If you don’t clear the HPV infection, you have something wrong with your immune system.
If you CAN clear HPV infections you don’t need Gardasil.
If you CANNOT clear HPV infections Gardasil CANNOT help you.
This is such a simple truth.
This was all so unfortunate, and to this day painted a negative image of the Texas governor in my eyes.
[...] mandatory for all girls: In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry had tried to order a Gardasil mandate in 2007 (His motives were a bit “Merck-y,”) but was over- ruled by the state legislature. That same year, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson [...]
[...] Texas Governor Rick Perry “just an act of God” and could not have been prevented. Well, what if God did not want us to be there in the first place? (This is the same Rick Perry that caused a ruckus in Texas (and the nation) with his Executive Order requiring the Gardasil vaccinations in Texas.) [...]
Judicial Watch Uncovers FDA Records Detailing 16 New Deaths Tied to Gardasil
If young girls were dying or becoming permanently disabled after receiving a vaccine approved by the FDA, wouldn’t you want the agency to pull the vaccine off the shelves and conduct more research?
That’s exactly the situation we’re in today. But unfortunately calls to the FDA to do something about it have fallen on deaf ears — even as the situation appears to worsen.
Last week we received yet another batch of documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detailing reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV), Gardasil.
These most recent adverse reactions include 16 new deaths (including four suicides) between May 2009 and September 2010. The FDA also produced 789 “serious†reports, with 213 cases resulting in permanent disability and 25 resulting in a diagnosis of Guillain Barre Syndrome.
Here are a few excerpts from the documents uncovered by Judicial Watch:
• A nineteen year old girl with no medical history except occasional cases bronchitis received Gardasil and in 53 days, had “Headache, Nausea, dizziness, chilling, tiredness, shortness of breath, complained of chest plain, severe cramps.†She experienced an Acute Cardiac Arrhythmia. Attempts to resuscitate her resulted in a sternal fracture, but were unsuccessful and the patient died. — V. 356938
• A thirteen year old girl was vaccinated on July 17th, 2009. Ten days later, she developed a fever and was treated. However, “the patient did not recover and was admitted to the hospital on [August 8th]…She developed dyspnoea and went into a coma…she expired [that day] at around 9:00 pm. The cause of death was determined as ‘death due to viral fever.’ … This event occurred after 23 days of receiving first dose of Gardasil. — V. 380081
• Thirteen days after vaccination, a ten year old girl developed “progressive loss of strength in lower and upper extremities almost totally…Nerve conduction studies [showed Guillain Barre Syndrome].†Case was “considered to be immediately life-threatening.†— V. 339375
One mother of a 13-year old girl, who died 37 days after receiving the vaccination, noted in a report: “I first declined getting her the vaccination but her doctor ensured me that it was safe…†After her daughter complained of a severe headache, no feeling in her foot and a tingling feeling in her leg, a doctor’s appointment was set for October 23, 2009. “My daughter never made it to Oct[ober] 23rd, which is also her birthday,†the mother noted. “She passed on Oct[ober] 17th, I found her cold unresponsive in her room at 7am….â€
To say Gardasil has a suspect safety record is a big understatement. These reports are troubling and show that the FDA and other public health authorities may be asleep at the switch. In the meantime, the public relations push for Gardasil by Merck and by politicians on Capitol Hill continues. No one should be pushing this vaccine for young children.
By the way, if you want to check out all of the FDA documents previously uncovered by Judicial Watch, or our special report entitled “Examining the FDA’s HPV Vaccine Records: Detailing the Approval Process, Side-Effects, Safety Concerns & Marketing Practices of a Large Scale Health Experiment,†click here.
[...] for Perry, but this freaked me out a few a years ago. Not something a real conservative would do. Mandatory Gardasil in Texas: Perry’s motives are a bit Merck-y | The eDrugSearch Blog I can see 2012 from my house Reply With [...]
in 2007 when Gov. Perry wanted to violate people’s(children,s) civil rights I e-mailed him stating I would move out of TX if I had daughters in that age group! I would hate to have move out of the USA if he became President and had other ridiculos ides! many people of my generation are suffering from medical problms from vaccines that they recieved. Kathy Quinley RI
[…] mandatory for all girls: In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry had tried to order a Gardasil mandate in 2007 (His motives were a bit “Merck-y,”) but was over- ruled by the state legislature. That same year, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson […]