Unbelievable.
 

These nazis will be the death of this country. Fecking idiots, nothing more.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NG2LFGJFT1.DTL
Debate rages on use of cervical cancer vaccine

Washington -- A new vaccine that protects against cervical cancer has set up a clash between health advocates who want to use the shots aggressively to prevent thousands of malignancies and social conservatives who say immunizing teen-agers could encourage sexual activity.

Although the vaccine will not become available until next year at the earliest, activists on both sides have begun maneuvering to influence how widely the immunizations will be employed.

Groups working to reduce the toll of the cancer are eagerly awaiting the vaccine and want it to become part of the standard roster of shots that children, especially girls, receive just before puberty.

Because the vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted virus, many conservatives oppose making it mandatory, citing fears that it could send a subtle message condoning sexual activity before marriage. Several leading groups that promote abstinence are meeting this week to formulate official policies on the vaccine.

Officials from the companies developing the shots -- Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline -- have been meeting with advocacy groups to try to assuage their concerns.

The jockeying reflects the growing influence social conservatives, who had long felt overlooked by Washington, have gained on a broad spectrum of policy issues under the Bush administration. In this case, a former member of the conservative group Focus on the Family serves on the federal panel that is playing a pivotal role in deciding how the vaccine is used.

"What the Bush administration has done has taken this coterie of people and put them into very influential positions in Washington," said James Morone Jr., a professor of political science at Brown University. "And it's having an effect in debates like this."

The vaccine protects women against strains of a ubiquitous germ called the human papilloma virus. Although many strains of the virus are innocuous, some can cause cancerous lesions on the cervix (the outer end of the uterus), making them the primary cause of this cancer in the United States. Cervical cancer strikes more than 10,000 U.S. women each year, killing more than 3,700.

The vaccine appears to be virtually 100 percent effective against two of the most common cancer-causing HPV strains. Merck, whose vaccine is further along, plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the year for approval to sell the shots.

Exactly how the vaccine is used will be largely determined by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a panel of experts assembled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The panel issues widely followed guidelines, including recommendations for childhood vaccines that become the basis for vaccination requirements set by public schools.

Officials of both companies noted that research indicates the best age to vaccinate would be just before puberty to make sure children are protected before they become sexually active. The vaccine would probably be targeted primarily at girls but could also be used on boys to limit the spread of the virus.

"I would like to see it that if you don't have your HPV vaccine, you can't start high school," said Juan Carlos Felix of the University of Southern California, who leads the National Cervical Cancer Coalition's medical advisory panel.

At the ACIP meeting last week, panel members heard presentations about the pros and cons of vaccinating girls at various ages. A survey of 294 pediatricians presented at the meeting found that more than half were worried that parents of female patients might refuse the vaccine, and 11 percent of the doctors said they thought vaccinating against a sexually transmitted disease "may encourage risky sexual behavior in my adolescent patients."

Conservative groups say they welcome the vaccine as an important public health tool but oppose making it mandatory.

"Some people have raised the issue of whether this vaccine may be sending an overall message to teen-agers that, 'We expect you to be sexually active,' " said Reginald Finger, a doctor trained in public health who served as a medical analyst for Focus on the Family before being appointed to the ACIP in 2003.

"There are people who sense that it could cause people to feel like sexual behaviors are safer if they are vaccinated and may lead to more sexual behavior because they feel safe," said Finger, emphasizing he does not endorse that position and is withholding judgment until the issue comes before the vaccine policy panel for a formal recommendation.

Conservative medical groups have been fielding calls from concerned parents and organizations, officials said.

"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. But Rudd said most people change their minds once they learn more, adding he would probably want his children immunized. Rudd, however, draws the line at making the vaccine mandatory.

"Parents should have the choice. There are those who would say, 'We can provide a better, healthier alternative than the vaccine, and that is to teach abstinence,' " Rudd said.

The council plans to meet Wednesday to discuss the issue. On the same day, the Medical Institute for Sexual Health in Austin, Texas, which advises conservative groups on sexuality and health issues, is convening a one-day meeting to develop a position statement.

Alan Kaye, executive director of the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, likened the vaccine to wearing a seat belt.

"Just because you wear a seat belt doesn't mean you're seeking out an accident," Kaye said.

I agree with you totally.
People are just crazy.
No rhyme, no reason.
:(

Oh.My.God.

This is a slap in the face.

About a month ago when they first announced this new vaccine, I told myself I will be first in line.

It was about this same time I went to my Gyn. for my pap. I hadn't been for 8 years and I have a history of bad paps, due to the HPV virus. I have been kicking myself in the ass severly. I knew I needed to be going, but I kept putting it off. Pap came back bad, had biopsy done, I'm in the last stages, (Hi-grade-severe dysplasia) before it turns into cervical cancer...whew..I cut it close. I'm going to have the LEEP procedure done next Monday.

So, this really does disgust me!!

Ladies, please get your annual checkups!

I can't believe anyone is even giving these f***tards the time of day. Why would we listen to them again?

Well...
 

let's see...If it came from Washington then you should know it is a bunch of BS, It always is (As is anything heard from Hollyweird! Rule of thumb, It is originates from Hollyweird or Wa-****-ton you can bet it smells like "ca-ca")

I guess I will ask my sister's opinion about this since she battled cervical cancer and see if she thinks it is also a steaming pile of fly attracting ****.

Brian "There ya go...Now ya wont have to worry cervical cancer but you can go get laid as many times as ya want" j.

This is what happens when groups like Focus on the Family have influence on our government. I hope we can survive three years until the neocon/fanatic f*ckers are booted out of Washington.

You reminded me of the very first episode of The West Wing where Martin Sheen bitches out the Christian fundamentalist leaders. "Get out of the House!" :laugh:

It truly sickens me that these kids could have a vaccine to prevent cancer and those whackjobs are too concerned with pushing their disgusting agenda to really care. It's bad enough we have militant pharmacists out there refusing to fill prescriptions for the morning-after pill because "Jesus" told them to. Filthy pigs.

It's every bit as idiotic and irresponsible as their refusal to give contraceptives to Africans to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, because they'd prefer they simply abstain. :rolleyes:

This goes one further than the Neo -cons and the religious wrong's opposition to stem cell research .If these people aren't ousted I shudder to think where this will all end.

Lisa, Im glad you caught your condition in time :angel: HPV is nothing to fool around with, and men are carriers even if they dont actually suffer from the disease.
The Fundie attitude just proves that they dont give a **** about women. period. Abstinence. Yeah that'll really work :mad::rolleyes:

Deep breaths. There's still some hope of a major blow-up. Fitzgerald is still investigating, and Dubya's approval ratings keeps hitting record lows every few days.

Meanwhile, I can take in one or two people for a little while if anybody else wants to do the whole ex-pat thing.

Cervical cancer (among other things that I won't get into here) ultimately took away my ability to have children. When I was diagnosed, I had one partner who had only had one partner before me.

I can't believe that there is a vaccine available and we're worried about MAKING it available. This just makes me sick. When I think back and realize that had this been available to me, I may never have had to go through the hell of infertility, it makes me want to cry. Giving your child this vaccine does not mean they're going to go out and have sex- it's just saying, "I hope my child doesn't have early sex, but is he/she does, at least I can't protect them from this one (quiet and very serious) thing."

:distress:

Once again, women's health is sidelined because some asshole in Washington is afraid of sex. Oh yes! Abstinance has always worked so well in the past! This kind of stuff makes me insane-o. We're no better off than in the days when male doctors believed all female illnesses were due to the fact that we had a uterus! They butchered women then, and they continue to do so. grrrrr!!!!!

:xoxo: Good to know there is an out! :laugh:

Oh Janet, my heart is broken for you--you paid the ultimate price for the lack of quality health care for women...perhaps you should think about writing to the panel (or its members) regarding your situation. I think those MEN need to hear from the WOMEN that suffered and give them a heads up about what waits for a woman who has had the cancer. Bless you my dear...:angel: