It's nice to know there's a government that cares, even if it isn't ours
i wouldn't rank the uk as among the world's most enlightened or liberated countries, but at least their government takes more than a passing interest in people's health without getting all caught up in their fundamentalist christian knickers...
is there opposition in the uk...? sure...
but, in the uk, at least for now, health, rather than ideology, is the priority, as opposed to what we've been experiencing in the u.s...
it's nice to know there's a government that cares, even if it isn't ours... Submit To Propeller
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Schoolgirls as young as 12 are to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease linked to cervical cancer, under controversial plans being drawn up by the Department of Health.
Millions of girls would be immunised at school against human papilloma virus (HPV) before they become sexually active. Research has shown the virus is one of the key causes of cervical cancer, which kills around 1,000 women a year.
is there opposition in the uk...? sure...
The move will be controversial with some parents, who fear the jabs will encourage unprotected sex or send confused messages about the right age for girls to lose their virginity. The new jab also adds to the long list of vaccines to which children's immune systems are subjected and which some parents worry put too high a burden on young bodies.
but, in the uk, at least for now, health, rather than ideology, is the priority, as opposed to what we've been experiencing in the u.s...
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 teenagers 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.
it's nice to know there's a government that cares, even if it isn't ours... Submit To Propeller
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posted by profmarcus at
12/23/2006
