A new HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) immunization has been recently developed. It has been proven to be virtually 100% effective, thus greatly reducing the risk of cervical cancer, of which the leading cause is HPV. The recommendation is to make such a vaccine mandatory.
HPV is a sexually transmitted disease, so in the twisted minds of these people that means that inoculating women and girls against it will promote sex.
"I've talked to some who have said, 'This is going to sabotage our abstinence message,' " said Gene Rudd, associate executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations.(via Atrios)
[...]
Cervical cancer strikes more than 10,000 U.S. women each year, killing more than 3,700.
If these sorts of statements exemplify the "base" of the Republican Party, then all is lost.
ReplyDeleteHow can you be pro-cancer on religious grounds? WTF? I suppose it's not totally outlandish to suggest that sex is dangerous because God doesn't want rampant teenage promiscuity. But the underlying message is supposed to be that that sort of thing is wrong for moral/social reasons.
I suppose it undermines the message because now people who don't want their kids having sex will have to treat their children like adults and explain the moral and social reasons for abstinence instead of just saying "if you have sex, you'll get pregnant and die of HPV."