According to an article I read the other day in Time magazine, it seems that in the US there is a push to vaccinate girls aged 11 and 12 (and even as young as 9) against HPV - the human papillomavirus, which is spread mainly through sex and two strains of which are believed to cause 70% of cervical cancer (I've heard the figure is as high as 90%).
To do this they're using a new drug, Gardasil, which was approved by the FDA last June. Merck, who make the drug, were trying to lobby states to require the vaccine for schools but have since stopped.
It must say something about our parenting that we take it for granted that 11 and 12 year old girls are going to be sexually active so, hey, we have to give them a vaccine to protect them against diseases they might catch while having sexual intercourse. Isn't that kind of like giving your pre-teen your consent? "Well, hey, you're going to have sex when you're 12 anyway, so we may as well protect you now
Whatever happened to instilling your values in them and bringing them up right? Or does the popular media (music videos, movies, magazines, TV) have so much influence now that that's not possible?
To do this they're using a new drug, Gardasil, which was approved by the FDA last June. Merck, who make the drug, were trying to lobby states to require the vaccine for schools but have since stopped.
It must say something about our parenting that we take it for granted that 11 and 12 year old girls are going to be sexually active so, hey, we have to give them a vaccine to protect them against diseases they might catch while having sexual intercourse. Isn't that kind of like giving your pre-teen your consent? "Well, hey, you're going to have sex when you're 12 anyway, so we may as well protect you now
Whatever happened to instilling your values in them and bringing them up right? Or does the popular media (music videos, movies, magazines, TV) have so much influence now that that's not possible?