Cervical cancer, which is caused by a sexually transmitted virus, kills almost 4,000 women in the United States each year. A promising new vaccine that could virtually wipe out cervical cancer is being resisted by some conservative abstinence-only advocates who worry that it might encourage girls to be sexually active.
Their logic is strained to the breaking point here. The vaccine is behavior-neutral; it simply provides protection against this virus when and if the person becomes sexually active, whether inside or outside of marriage. Most young women don’t even know about the virus in question, research suggests, so how could a vaccine to protect them from it encourage promiscuity? It’s not likely to be a determining factor in their choices.
A more legitimate issue is whether the vaccine should be mandatory, included in the usual boosters required for public school students. I’m not convinced that it should be. Perhaps there’s some middle ground whereby students are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated but an opt-out provision is included for parents dead-set against it. Most parents, I’d guess, would choose protection for their children.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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29 Comments
You know every time I hear something that would be the perfect evidence for having someone certified as being mental illness. I then hear of something better, the thought that having a cure for a cancer would lead to promiscuity. How many sleepless night did the person that thought that up have?
It sounds more like one of your bogus headlines Randy!
RD,Actually, the exact same argument has been directed by preachers at condoms, penicillin, the pill, Suffragettes, Planned Parenthood, movies and Model T Fords, too. Amazing how many causes promiscuity has! And they’re absolutely heartbroken that technology has taken away so many of the divine punishments for it, thus making their duty to safeguard hymens so much more difficult to justify. Before long, at this rate, they may be forced to find real jobs, perish the thought!
As soon as cars came with a back-seat…..it was over.
It’s amazing to hear about how these so called religious conservatives would rather 4000 women a year die, than release a vaccine that would prevent their death. Just amazing. Maybe the Kansas legislature can find a way to put a sin tax on the vaccine.Ed…write a book. Sell it outside synagogues.
JM, good post. Jed too.It’s the same kind of thinking that goes:First stem cells, next we’ll be mutilating babies in late term pregnancies.
Wether these fools like it or not, even their little princess will grow up.
Tracy
Karl Rove drove to fools to the polls in record numbers, using fear of “gay marrigage,” enough to elect Bush, so using fools is big business for the cabal.
Walker
Imperial Hubris has already been written, but why would they want buy any book that would cut them off from the next 1.7 trillion dollars they will be receiving from the United States, to match that amount they’ve already mooched since 1973?
And that only drafts what they’ve already ranked-in from the Holocaust. We’re not talking just “pocket money.” They may be exceptionally greedy, but not dumb enough to cut-off their gravy train.
The “settlers” received 2.5 billion from the United States just to move from Gaza. That’s more than “Katrina victims” received. Our victims from Katrina received just 2000 { our treasury must have been getting low }.
As long as people will pay for it. Pharmacutical companies spend billios on research and development to produce drugs to help save lives and cure diseases. I know people think they are evil because they want to make money, butt that is their business and I believe they deserve it. They are not going to spend billions, so they can give it away to people.
Unless you want the government to buy it for you. That will cost us in taxes.
Joe
You might point-out that research costs money. The average “drug” takes 10 to 15 years to develop, so it’s not just about profits.
The price you pay for the one you want now pays for the one you’ll be wanting later.
The Onion
http://www.theonion.com/content/
R.D. — It’s so idiotic that it seems made up, I’ll grant you, but right-wingers really believe this.
And you notice how it’s the WOMEN that suffer because of the right-wingers intolerant superstition, kinda like with abortion, hmmm . . .
Once you buy the idea that Eve was the mother of all sin, then you can easily buy the idea that women should suffer for “sin.”
Back to the subject a second,
I wonder if we could get the Religious Right’s permission to use this vaccine, if we agreed to stone to death any girl/woman they viewed as guilty of promiscuity?
Steven, torture seems popular, could we use that instead?
TRACY,Yeah, I guess; it’s just that stoning seems more Bibical.
All these bluenose, ‘Christian’ fascists care about is that women are having sex with folks who aren’t them. And it makes them MAD!
Galahad,In the same vein, a medieval christian legend tells about the honest blacksmith who refused to make the nails for Jesus’ crucifixion, so his wife went behind his back and made them.Such stories were used to prove how evil women were, and how their excessive lust tempted men into a life of sin.If you want to read more on the subject, google a translation of the “Malleus Malificarum.”It’s a root document that still seems to shape conservative christian’s attitudes toward women.
Steven,Doesn’t getting stoned lead to more promiscuity?
Stoners certainly hope so.Go to the local bar an hour before closing time for positive proof.
Unfortunately, the RR has figured out how to control public servants. They will get this to die by FDA, just like plan B, and despite support from the medical community. Can I get a vaccine for how the RR makes me ill?
Every day people are straying away from the church and going back to God.Lenny Bruce(1923 – 1966)
Wouldn’t it be great if we could invent a vaccine that would cure anal rententivness in the religious right? Considering how much conservatives hate sex, I wonder where little republicans come from.
Read the F5 Wichita paper, a nice letter to the editor. I do caution, some strong words are used.
Galahad, I thought Lilith, Adam’s first wife, is the Mother of All Evil, for it was hear who swore vengeance upon all offsprings of Eve. ;)
XXXThere is a vaccine already for curing the religious right of their anal rententivness. It’s called common sense.Little republicans arn’t born, their cloned:-))
I wish the superior Galahad would tell me what to think about this.
There you go again. Abortion and promiscuity are not political subjects. They are religious.Catholics and most other religions are against abortion and promiscuity. Kennedy, Kerry and all other practicing Catholics are anti abortion. Most Republicans vote their religion, democrats do not.Personally, I was pro both until my kids turned teens. Suddenly I could see the down side of early pregnancy and promiscuity in general. Now my kids kids are seeing the down side. HE HE HE. Just like God planned it.
Steven–isn’t it Rushbo who says that he needs to tell his listeners what to think.
Silly me, I would never listen to anyone who demeaned me in that way.
But you seem to like it, don’t you big boy.
Megadittos, Steven.
Speaking about religions vs. vaccinations, look what happen to polio eradications in Sub-Saharan Africa. I fault those clerics who misguide the population by believing the drops will render women infertile, and thus setting up the next global epidemy.
These christianists can’t see that even if their girls are chaste, their husbands-to-be may not be. And what’s wrong to carry an umbrella around even if the weather turned out to be nice and the rain that has been predicted just never materializes?
A new drug that “might” promote promiscuity in women. Sounds good to me. How long before it is out on the market?????? And will it be available over the counter????
Good news there is something that has been on the market for promoting promiscuity for some time now. Its called a wedding ring!
RD, I think wedding rings should be about monogamy, not promiscuity.