After the CNN/Tea Party debate in Florida, Wolf Blitzer interviewed Michele Bachmann one-on-one, and asked her specifically about the HPV vaccination issue that became one of the main topics during the debate. One statement Congresswoman Bachmann made in her response was:
A little girl doesn’t get a do-over once she gets the vaccination.
While this statement is true, there is also the opposite argument that can be made.
If a little girl does not get the vaccination, and contacts the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), there is no do-over either.
I am in no way advocating the government mandate of the vaccine, and believe that Governor Perry made the right decision when he signed into law a bill that would undo his executive order. However, this is an issue that is very close to home for me, and I can honestly say I understand why Governor Perry made the decision he made.
Yes, I know there are those who believe as Michele Bachmann misrepresented, when she implied that Governor Perry’s decision was politically motivated due to the fact that the maker of the vaccine was a donor of Perry’s. Governor Perry responded by saying:
“I raise about $30 million, and if you’re saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I’m offended.”
Michele Bachmann responded with:
“I’m offended for all the little girls and the parents that didn’t have a choice. That’s what I’m offended for.”
Well, Congresswoman Bachmann, the fact of the matter is you are wrong! Even when the mandate was in effect, there was always the option to opt-out! If the parents did not choose to inform themselves on their rights, that is their fault! Parents always had a choice to opt-out of the mandate!
While Governor Perry was indeed wrong by making this a law by executive order, it is the parents’ responsibility to inform themselves, not the government!
Whether or not Governor Perry’s decision was politically motivated is not the issue. Personal responsibility is the issue. It is the responsibility of the parent to inform themselves. It is because of the fact that so many parents have allowed the government to make these kind of decisions that we are in the situation we are in now.
Governor Perry has stated emphatically that if he had it to do over again, he would not make the same decision. You can doubt his sincerity and original motivation if you like. The fact of the matter is this: HPV is a very real disease that effects a large portion of the population.
It all comes down to this:
Everything in life is a choice. Every single choice we make has a consequence- good, bad or indifferent.
If you choose to have sex, you are taking a chance of contacting a sexually transmitted disease. With every choice comes a consequence.
No, the answer is not government mandated vaccinations for sexually transmitted diseases! In fact, there are many who believe that some of the current government mandated vaccinations are harmful. These children- girls and boys alike- do not get a do-over! We do not know the harm we are doing to our children with theses vaccinations!
The answer is to teach our children that all choices have consequences. We have to stop making excuses for why things happen and blaming others. Sex has consequences- one of the possible consequences is contacting a sexually transmitted disease. Another possible consequence is an unplanned pregnancy- which will lead to more choices, since we have allowed the legal murder of innocent life if is too much of an inconvenience.
As one who knows the personal side of dealing with HPV, it is not an easy decision. Now that the vaccination is not mandated, it is still an inner struggle when you have faced this disease head on and know the fears personally. With two daughters that are just a few years from the age of 12, knowing the world we live in, knowing the struggle with teaching choices and consequences in a home where it is the priority, it still is not an easy decision. If you decide to give your daughter the vaccination, there are risks. If you decide not to give your daughter the vaccination, there are risks. It all comes down to this:
Everything in life is a choice. Every single choice we make has a consequence- good, bad or indifferent.
Perry (and any other government entity) getting involved in healthcare decisions should begin and end with education efforts. There is no justification for mandating any healthcare decision or course of action, except in the event of an immediate epidemic. If Perry had dedicated those resources to educating parents via existing channels and encouraging physicians to educate patients, there would be no issue. Legislating life decisions is never the right course of action.
So you have never made a mistake in your life?
He plainly said he should not have made that decision. It would be something ENTIRELY different if he stood by his decision saying he had done nothing wrong, and would do it the same way again.
Let me just follow up by saying that I agree with you ONE MILLION %, that the government SHOULD NOT be getting involved in healthcare decisions and should begin and end with education efforts. So I do not agree at all with Rick Perry on the decision he made. It’s not that I agree with it, even with me being one of the statistics. There was absolutely NO education on HPV when I was younger. I had never heard of it at all until my early 20’s when I was diagnosed with it.
Also, there are WITHOUT A DOUBT other things that I disagree with Perry on. In this Gardasil issue, he very well may be telling a complete lie. Maybe it was all motivated by Merck contributions, his previous staff member, etc. Truthfully, they are ALL politically posturing on ALL of the issues, if we want to really get down to brass tacks, as they say. And is Rick Perry my BE ALL THAT ENDS ALL candidate? ABSOLUTELY NOT! However, as a Texan, while I do have issues with his governorship, Rick Perry seems to be the best choice we currently have- MOST ESPECIALLY if we our number one concern as a nation is jobs.
Back on the government should not be making healthcare decisions- again, I agree, and believe there are already too many “requirements” by the government.
This is the dumbest argument I have ever read. Allenah Manzagrano has got to have a serious warp in his/her mental processes to consider that this article made any rational sense whatsoever. I feel like I just read the script for Billy Madison. “We all are dumber having read this.”
Obviously, Allenah has NO concept of what either candidate said during the debate.
Bill, when you decide you would like to have a CIVIL discussion, rather than resorting to ridiculing someone because you do not agree with them, I will be MORE than happy to talk with you. Otherwise, good day!
Mandate = no penalty opt out?
Gee, when did we warp the meaning of words? Obamacare has a mandate, I can opt out and pay a fine. Or, I can opt out of paying my taxes and pay a fine, go to jail.
What was Perry’s opt out penalty?
I think Steven has a great point. So I researched it. And guess what? Opt-out provisions were inherently unfair to parents who oppose HPV vaccination.
Consider this Allenah,
In 2007, Texas was the first state to make inoculation mandatory for girls for school attendance, done so by Perry’s executive order (overturned by the Texas legislature in 2008.)
In 2007, the official position of Texas conservative groups was this: “We support the widespread availability of the HPV vaccine, but we also support parental rights and oppose making it mandatory in schools”
So how hard was the Opt Out?
Begin Quote…
“Opt-out” or Conscientious Exemption to Vaccination Process is a Bureaucratic Nightmare.
To get the exemption form, parents must first submit a written form to State Health Department in Austin which forces the disclosure of the child’s full name, birthdate, and mailing address. The Health Department takes those written requests and creates yet another form on which they print the child’s same personal information that the parent had to send to health department, and the Health Department sometimes takes weeks to mail out these forms inevitably disrupting the child’s school attendance. The Health Department only sends the forms by U.S. mail, and once the parent receives the forms, they must be notarized within 90 days of submitting them and then repeatedly resubmitted every 2 years even though there is no expiration set in statute.
End Quote.
Also, lets follow what Perry has said from 2007 up to now. Keep in mind, he DEFENDED his position when he ran for Governor in 2010. Now, 2011 he has flopped on it.
Perry 2010: “I stand proudly by my pro-life position,” the governor said in response to a question about the HPV mandate during a GOP gubernatorial debate in 2010. Perry spokesman Mark Miner said Monday that the governor “stands firmly on the side of life, and that’s what this issue was about.”
Perry 2011: “I readily stand up and say I made a mistake on that,” Perry said Monday on an Iowa radio call-in show.
So in 2011 he “readily” stands up 2 years after the state legislature overturned it, one year after he defended it when running for re-election?
Perry is Obama wearing a wishy-washy mask.
Source: https://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/perry-calls-hpv-vaccine-mandate-a-mistake-1748535.html
Source: https://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2007/04/01/texas-hpv-vaccine-mandate-angers-many
Source: https://thespeechatimeforchoosing.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/about-that-gardasil-mandate-opt-out-perry-is-touting/
I will start by repeating one thing from my previous reply.
“Truthfully, they are ALL politically posturing on ALL of the issues.”
Now, back to the actual issue of Gardasil. I was not in the position to have to make the decision for one of my daughters at the time it was mandated. Even with the fact that I struggle with what is the right decision (PERSONALLY, due to my PERSONAL circumstances), I can tell you what it would have come down to in our home. Even if I had thought about just having it done, because I know the dangers, my husband would have never agreed to this! My daughters would have been pulled out of school and home-schooled rather than us being forced to give them the vaccination. It is already something we are GREATLY considering, and this is most certainly something that would have been the deciding factor. And I am the kind of person that not only pulls my child out of school, by MY choice, not because the school refuses to allow them to go because we didn’t “follow the rules”.
The purpose of this part of my 3-part article was to show the PERSONAL side of the issue. EVERY SINGLE ONE of these POLITICIANS are going to play the American people. It is my intent with this article to show that this is a very real issue that is not just about a decision Governor Perry made. It comes down to TEACHING OUR CHILDREN there are consequences for actions. With me facing the actual consequences, you can BET my children will know SPECIFICALLY, and EXACTLY when they are old enough to handle the details- no, not every single detail, of course, but enough details so it’s not just an illusion to them. They will know the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual pain I have lived with. They will know how the impulsive decisions I made when I was younger have an impact on me as an adult- even to this day (or that day, whenever it will be when my children are old enough to know.)
While I am not arguing that it was not a nightmare to opt-out, it was still an option. Again- information that Bachmann and the media refuse to talk about. So let them discuss THAT aspect with Governor Perry. If everyone TRULY wants to get down to the facts, go to the source! Ask him the tough question on this, call him on the FACTS.
A bit of a side note here: As I stated, they are ALL politicians and are trying to get points for themselves at the expense of others- with the exception of one person. Newt Gingrich.
Rather than changing the topic and expounding on that, I will write an article. So, stay tuned.
“My daughters would have been pulled out of school and home-schooled rather than us being forced to give them the vaccination. And I am the kind of person that not only pulls my child out of school, by MY choice, not because the school refuses to allow them to go because we didn’t “follow the rules”.”
I think your intended action misses the point. Or maybe I’m not getting your point. If Legislation forces parents to abandon the public school system (not that I oppose that idea!) then what good is a republic form of government whose duty is to protect minority classes? Certainly, parents who oppose HPV for their minor children are a minority class, and it shouldn’t take a barrel of red-tape to opt out. And while I admire your stance, that pulling your kids out is “YOUR” choice, it really isn’t your choice if you violate the mandate/opt out rules and the school bars your kids.