H. 3136 Cervical Cancer Vaccination

H. 3136 is a bill requiring the vaccination of female students with a cervical cancer vaccine series. Although this bill has good intentions of preventing cervical cancer, there is an unnecessary invasion of privacy with this mandate. These decisions are to be left to parents, patients, & their physicians.

We might agree that certain communicable diseases such as measles or rubella warrant required vaccinations. When the public good is at stake, we will allow the intrusion of personal decisions. Conversely, vaccinations for non-contagious conditions do not meet this standard. As a pharmacist, I have witnessed unpredicted side effects with new therapies, even when our approval process is very stringent. Should we force this risk on our citizens to prevent a non-contagious disease?

I have very strong reservations with this legislation.

Your thoughts?

If you would like to follow the status of this bill, you may follow this link