HPV Vaccine - Blessing or Curse?

Gardasil and Cervarix are HPV vaccines which target the high-risk HPVs, types 16 & 18. They have been shown to offer 100 percent protection against the development of cervical pre-cancers and genital warts. Gardasil also targets HPV types 6 & 11, which together cause about 90 percent of all cases of genital warts.

These vaccines are a preventative measure - which means they are not helpful for people who have already been infected. With this preventative measure in mind the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended vaccination of girls as young as nine years old.

Unfortunately this has caused a bit of a political controversy. Some see this vaccine as a blessing that would save numerous lives and cause the emotions of many to be effectively lifted from a stressor that has plagued generation after generation of humanity.

Others have seen this as a curse stating that by giving our children less risks regarding having sex, we are giving them more of an incentive to engage in risky behavior.

Since genital warts can lead to the development of cervical cancer in women, there's no wonder that a vaccine has been created to curb this deadly problem. While the genital warts themselves are largely harmless, this greater problem is causing much dismay to females around the world. So a vaccine to prevent this disease from occurring should be heralded as a godsend.

However. Conservative groups across America have been condemning the idea of making this vaccine mandatory. They do this on moral grounds. While the standpoint is held by a minority, their influence may still have a profound effect on the women of the world. Since the guidelines for mandatory vaccines are set on a state-by-state basis, there is a chance that the vaccine may not be made mandatory in some states across the nation. And the problem doesn't stop there. In order to vaccinate someone under the age of 18, doctors need to have the express permission of the child's parents or caretaker. In right-winged conservative families, the attitude of 'abstaining from sex until marriage' may cause these girls to be disallowed from getting the vaccine.

 While the controversy is one with two sides, it's clear that genital warts infections are a problem across the United States and elsewhere that could be solved with a simple new method. All religious beliefs and moral guidelines aside, the problem is one that we must face united as a nation. To make the vaccine mandatory for some while laying others by the wayside only puts those not vaccinated at a disadvantage. The refusal of medical treatment on a moral ground is one that is foolhardy to those who care for and respect the health and well-being of their children.
While everyone has the right to their own opinion, genital warts is a problem that we've been faced with for centuries, and it's one that we finally have the opportunity to solve. Giving children this vaccine is not about condoning young sexual behavior - it is about preventing disease and possibly saving lives. There should be no controversy about saving lives!

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