Friday, March 09, 2007

Lung Cancer Vaccine

Consider this scenario…

Merck, Inc. has just released a brand new vaccine that will inoculate people against the dreaded disease of lung cancer. Now, the drug hasn’t been tested or proven yet. But none-the-less, it is a vaccine. Hooray! Now, everyone in the country can start smoking again! No worries about the dreaded consequence of lung cancer. After all, Merck has assured us that their vaccine works.

Now, suppose there is a certain Texas governor, who for this article will remain unnamed, who just so happened to receive a $5000 contribution from Merck, Inc. for his reelection campaign. How could this very grateful governor return the favor for this contribution? Well…although it is illegal to sell cigarettes to minors, and there has been a major push through public service ads to discourage smoking by minors, we “all” know that kids are going to smoke anyway, no matter what we tell them. So, this very grateful governor has a wonderful idea! Let’s force all sixth grade aged children to receive this vaccine before we allow them to enroll in their friendly neighborhood government school! What a service this will offer to children! Now parents can sleep well at night knowing that if these children light up after being told not to, at least their lungs will remain healthy. Side effects? Who knows? But, the most important thing is that Merck, Inc. survives another day to bring us more miracle drugs.

Far fetched you say? Well, this scenario has played itself out with only one difference. The disease being battled isn’t lung cancer. It’s human papillomavirus. And the students targeted for this campaign contribution payoff are limited to females signing up for government indoctrination at their local Texas public school. This Texas Governor, who I have already promised not to name (initials….RP), by executive order has mandated that all sixth grade girls receive this brand new, untested vaccine. It makes no difference that HPV is only contracted through sexual contact, which should not be happening at least within the walls of the school. It makes no difference that parents of “good children” don’t want this drug injected into their little girl. If people want to take the “free education” offered by the government, they will succumb to this treatment.

Christian groups are up in arms about this. Letter campaigns have been organized to write to this supposedly conservative Governor Per..(oops almost slipped)… encouraging him to return to the conservative platform that he campaigned on. He needs to be reminded that parents are the ones who should decide what, if any, vaccines their children receive. Of course, coming to his defense, it is most likely assumed that parents gave up these rights when handing their children off to the state for their education anyway. Right or wrong, this seems to be happening on a much broader scale than just vaccines. Regardless, it’s hard to argue with big money. I have a feeling that a $5000 contribution is only the tip of the iceberg.

So, if you are a Texan living in Texas…unlike myself living in Indian Territory…call your state congressman and senator. Call the Governor’s office. Express your disapproval. But more importantly, reclaim your parental authority by pulling your children out of an abusive organization that would inject drugs into your child against your will. If you are concerned about HPV, teach your children abstinence from sex. After all, we seem to trust that approach in regard to smoking. Abstinence produces amazing results, whether we are talking about lung cancer or HPV.

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