Moral Decay Grabbing our Culture by the Throat
By Kevin Roeten (03/18/07)
It sounds as if the decision has been made that our daughters can't be trusted to wait to have sex until after marriage. Many parents indicate that their control is severely limited, or possibly even gone. It seems we have all placed the 'bar' lower and lower. But the recipient of our complacency this time is Merck Company. And the name of its product is called 'Gardasil'.
Five states—Texas, California, Virginia, New Mexico, and Illinois---are actually debating the issue of ‘mandating’ the vaccine for school girls. Make that four, because Texas plans to require the shots(9/08) for girls to enter school. The new vaccine allegedly prevents human papillomavirus(HPV) from infecting the cervix. This sexually transmitted disease can possibly cause cervical cancer. In actuality(Linda Chavez/NEWSMAX), twenty states are considering ‘mandating’ such vaccinations. Do we really want the state telling us that our daughters must get inoculated against a virus that can easily be avoided by sensible moral behavior?
But to complete this scenario, one has to make some radical assumptions. First, one would have to assume that their daughter will become sexually active by their teen years. Second, one must assume that they can have no impact whatsoever on their daughters’ future decisions. (Does one require a child to wear a seat belt while traveling in a car?) Third, men are always removed from the equation and are absolved of all responsibility. How easily men are considered non-players when morality is involved.
But what Merck( producer of 'Gardasil' ) doesn’t tell you is that if the state ‘mandates’ this vaccine, only Merck will have it. They don’t tell you that ‘Gardasil’ is only protective against 4 of the 40 types of genital HPV, that girls as young as 6th grade must take the shots, that three shots must be taken at ~$400 to have the desired effect, that the American College of Pediatricians “…is opposed to any legislation that would require HPV vaccination for school attendance”, and that the National Vaccine Informational Center(NVIC) notes that cancer screening through annual pap smears has curbed cervical cancer in the last 37 years by 74%.
But the worst about this vaccine is the expected negative side effects, reported in at least 20 states. Per Vicky DeBold(NVIC Health Policy Analyst), “Young girls are experiencing severe headaches, dizziness, temporary loss of vision and some girls have lost consciousness during what appears to be seizures.” (NVIC) President Barbara Fisher hears that many parents are opposed to the HPV vaccine. “Parents are becoming more concerned about the sheer number of vaccines kids are getting these days,” says Fisher. “In the 1980’s, US children got 23 doses of seven vaccines by age six. Today, they get 48 doses of 14 vaccines in the same period. And during that time that vaccine doses have doubled, there’s been an increase in the number of children with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, asthma, and diabetes, in which vaccines could be a contributing factor.”
The truly scary part is that our morality seems to be forced down our throats, assumptions are made, and the state may ‘mandate’ based on these assumptions. Has anyone ever said that the risk of exposure can be almost eliminated by simply avoiding sexual promiscuity? Parental expectations play a major role in teenage sexual behavior. Unknowingly, the inoculation with ‘Gardasil’ tells the teenager that “you’re going to have sex anyway, but we’ll try to guard against any unfavorable repercussions from that bad behavior”. It seems as though the ‘bar’ against pre-marital sex hasn’t just been lowered---it’s been removed. Maybe Someone’s trying to tell us something concerning morality. But many are not listening.
Kevin Roeten
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