Schools deny girls cervical cancer jabs on religious grounds

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Guardian

Schools deny girls cervical cancer jabs on religious grounds
Female pupils not being offered potentially life-saving vaccine at schools that oppose premarital sex

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 July 2012 02.01 EDT


Schoolgirls are being denied a potentially life-saving cervical cancer jab at their schools on religious grounds.

Some schools in England have opted out of the HPV vaccination programme because their pupils follow strict Christian principles and do not have sex outside marriage. The jab guards against two strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) virus – 16 and 18 – which cause 70% of cases of cervical cancer. It is offered routinely to girls aged 12 to 13.

But an investigation by GP magazine found 24 schools in 83 of England's 152 primary care trust (PCT) areas were opting out of the vaccination programme, many of them on religious grounds.

The magazine found the majority of schools opting out did not tell their local GPs, where the girls could be offered the vaccine.


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jul/18/cervical-cancer-vaccine-schoolgirls-religion

[sakabatou]

1. Teh stupid!

It BURNS!

Yeah, because preventing cancer equals getting laid.

[AngryOldDem]

5. Well, it does!

If I get my girl this shot, that will give her the bright idea that it will be okay to have as much sex as she wants. Therefore, the shot promotes promiscuity.

Seriously...that's how they think, even though cases of HPV can be spread from the man to the woman, so who's to say that her HUSBAND couldn't give her the virus?

My oldest daughter got the vaccine, and my younger is in the process (you get it in stages). I am so thrilled that this will be one disease they won't have to worry about as they go on with their lives. I wish they had it when I was a teen.

[arbusto_baboso]

14. The truly sad part is you don't have to have sex to contract HPV.

There are over 100 forms of HPV, and only about 30 are sexually transmitted.

[xchrom]

2. How stupid. Nt

[tclambert]

3. Their pupils do not have sex outside marriage? Are they really, really sure?

They know because their teenage girls PROMISE not to. Report of teenage pregnancies in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

[LiberalFighter]

21. Just like school administrators

don't have extramarital sex.

[66 dmhlt]

4. The HPV vaccine is NO more an invitation to having premarital relations than ...

Wearing a seatbelt is an invitation to having a car accident.

[randome]

10. Perfect analogy!

[awoke_in_2003]

6. The stupid is spreading to Europe. nt

[whathehell]

12. Not so sure about the "spreading"

Like other places, it's probably mostly homegrown.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. Good point...

one day we are going to have to realize how batshit crazy these people are, stop respecting their beliefs, and open them to general ridicule. I don't cherish the idea of this, but public health and safety should trump bronze age belief systems.

[whathehell]

16. Thanks

although I'm not an atheist and don't think religion in general should be "held up for ridicule"

I'm VERY much in favor of the separation of church and state and

and against fundamentalist Islam, Christianity, Judaism, whatever,

trumping science and common sense, especially when it comes to health and public life.

[awoke_in_2003]

17. I didn't mean to ridicule it in general...

only when dimwits say they won't vaccinate because premarital sex is against their religion, or against sex Ed for the same reason. Or think that creationism should be taught as a valid scientific theory. When religion goes against common sense then it is fair game.

[whathehell]

20. I get you...n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

22. Cool...

sorry about that- re-reading it myself, it did come across a little harsher than I intended

[whathehell]

24. Sure..

You're very thoughtful, awoke...

[Ian David]

7. And what if the girls are raped by someone with HPV?

I read somewhere that as many as 1/3 of girls may lose their virginity to rape.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Exactly. Not all rapists use condoms.

[arbusto_baboso]

15. And condoms are largely useless in preventing HPV, anyway.

[Patiod]

9. Accepting the parents' premise:

Do they honestly believe, deep in their conservative Christian hearts, that even if little Rebecca remains 100% pure and untouched until her wedding evening, that her groom will have done so as well? Really?

[whathehell]

11. Aw gee..

I guess this is bad news for all the europhiles here who were convinced

it was only their own country that held these dumb, religious nuts.

I'm afraid the cognitive dissonance will be tough.

[4th law of robotics]

18. Even good christian girls who wait could get it via rape

possibly a bad blood exchange as well.

[Xithras]

19. Idiots. When I was in school, the Catholic school girls were the worst (or best, depending on POV)

I'm sure all of their parents would have tripped over themselves to tell everyone how good and chaste their daughters really were.

[NoodleyAppendage]

23. gOD will protect you from cancer...

...and if not, then it was his wish that you die anyway. Or some sort of twisted dumbass logic like that...

J