This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Since the development of a vaccine in 1796 that eventually conquered smallpox, most people have come to see vaccines as the best way to fight diseases ranging from polio to the flu. Most people, that is, with the apparent exception of some conservative Utah legislators.
A House committee irresponsibly killed a practical piece of legislation that would have helped Utah women take advantage of the first vaccine that prevents cancer. House Bill 358 would have provided $1 million to the Utah Department of Health to educate women and families about cervical cancer caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV, and to help uninsured girls and young women pay for vaccinations.
The stumbling block for committee members who voted against the bill apparently had more to do with how the virus is spread - it is sexually transmitted - than with the cost. Following testimony against the bill by Gayle Ruzicka of the right-wing Utah Eagle Forum, four committee members voted against the bill: Republican Reps. D. Gregg Buxton of Roy, John Dougall of Highland, Wayne Harper of West Jordan and Stephen Sandstrom of Orem.
It is simply unconscionable to withhold state support for one of the best weapons yet developed in the fight against cancer because this form of the potentially fatal disease is transmitted through sexual contact. Moral judgments have no place in good health-care policy.
Other arguments against it - that the drug is unproven, that the state shouldn't promote a particular drug company's vaccine, that the vaccine might encourage girls to be promiscuous - are easily rebutted.
The FDA has declared the drug safe and effective. Utah promotes flu vaccines and requires schoolchildren to have vaccinations for childhood illnesses and hepatitis, with no qualms about who produces them. Estimates are that up to 80 percent of Americans will catch HPV at some time during their lives. An average of 17 Utah women die of cervical cancer each year.
There is no reason to believe the vaccine would encourage teenagers to have sex more often. What many Utah teenagers desperately need is more information about HPV and other potential risks and how to avoid them. Ignorance leads to unhealthy behavior. Education can prevent it.
In Texas, Republican Gov. Rick Perry has issued an executive order requiring that schoolgirls get the vaccine. At least 10 other states are considering legislation to do the same. It's shameful that Utah legislators missed this chance to save the lives of women.