What's Next - Child Neglect for Parents Who Won't Vaccinate?

Boy, sometimes I really think there are conservatives who have gove over the edge in seeing the heavy hand of Big Brother in every government action.

And then something like this happens.

New Hampshire announced plans Wednesday to become the first state to offer the new cervical-cancer vaccine free to all girls. Beginning in January, the vaccine against the human papilloma virus, or HPV, will be provided to girls ages 11 through 18 as part of a state program that offers various immunizations to children at no cost.

The program is paid for by the federal government and insurance companies.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine in June for girls as young as 9. It prevents infection from some strains of HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Cervical cancer is the No. 2 cancer killer in women.

I REALLY don't like this. It strikes me as another Nanny State action, the kind that overrules the legal parents of a minor, pooh-poohing any objections, and forcing medical services on the family - but, it's FOR THE CHILDREN!

Yeah, I know it's voluntary now, but, eventually, the pressure will grow to force immunization on everyone.

I also have a quibble with the statistic on cervical cancer being the # 2 cancer killer in women. According to the 2002 cancer report, uterine cancer is 4th, after lung & bronchus, breast, & colon and rectal. And that uterine cancer is both cervical and other uterine cancers.

Women are about twice as likely to die of pancreatic cancer - about 6% of all cancers. But when have you heard the massive outcry to increase research for that type of cancer? You haven't.

Check out the stats yourself.

Frankly, I don't understand the hysteria this whole issue causes. Why go gonzo about the admittedly rare possibility of getting HPV, let alone having it develop into cancer?

I don't believe that the general public understands that one reason the cervical cancer stats have APPARENTLY been rising is that, instead of categorizing only true, late-stage cancers as part of those stats (the situation before the Pap test), now they call ALL the abnormal results "cancer", even those that the doctors themselves consider pre-cancerous, or only potentially, eventually cancerous. A lot of women have been led to surgery to eliminate those abnormal results, with the outcome that they are dropped into the cancer stats hopper.