Word of a new vaccine for cervical cancer has already created intense debate between social conservatives who say immunizing teenagers could promote sexual activity, and health advocates who want the shots to be used to prevent thousands of incidences of HPV and cervical cancer.
The hope for health advocates is that when the drug becomes available next year, it is given to girls around the time of puberty in order to protect them from the human papilloma virus before they become sexually active. Some even want the vaccine to be required along with other routine shots required before entry into high school.
Why a debate'
More than 3,700 women die from cervical cancer each year. My question is, what if your daughter is going to grow up and have pre-marital sex, despite your adamant views and pressure to abstain until marriage' Would you rather she become a part of that statistic than let her receive the vaccination “just in case'”
Besides, if a shot at the doctor’s office is enough to make your 12-year-old child come to the conclusion that sex before marriage must then be acceptable, you have bigger issues to deal with. Avoiding the “sex talk” and explaining what sexually transmitted diseases are doesn’t exactly make you a mature parent. Neither does coming to the conclusion that because a shot becomes available, you must rush to sit down and talk with your child about the “birds and the bees.” I don’t recall sitting down to a somber discussion with my parents about the reason I was getting a tetanus shot, the MMR series, or the Hepatitis B series. Shots were to prevent me from getting sick, and I accepted it. Some of them I asked about in more detail, but just because I learned about what a tetanus shot was essentially for, I didn’t seek out a rusty nail to step on.
As with all issues concerning sexual activity, there will never be a consensus. Therefore, let the parents who want to avoid facing the fact that their little kids might actually grow up and have sex one day waive the shot. Let those who’d rather make health a priority for their child have the shot. Then, whether you take your child in for the shot or not, you still have the option of what and how much you want to tell them about the shot, sex, reproductive organs, and STDs.
