Texas Parents Sue Gov. Perry For Executive Order Mandating HPV Vaccine For Middle School Girls

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 28 Feb 2007 - 3:00 PDT

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The parents of three Texas girls on Friday filed a lawsuit claiming Gov. Rick Perry (R) went beyond his authority and illegally issued an executive order mandating that all girls entering the sixth grade beginning in September 2008 receive a human papillomavirus vaccine, the Los Angeles Times reports (Hart, Los Angeles Times, 2/25). Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. FDA in July 2006 approved Gardasil for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26, and CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices later that month voted unanimously to recommend that girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine. GSK in April plans to file for FDA approval of Cervarix, and it expects approval by the end of this year. Perry said the executive order, which he signed on Feb. 2, will allow parents who do not want their daughters to receive an HPV vaccine "for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs," to opt out of the requirement. Under the executive order, girls and women ages nine to 21 who are eligible for public assistance will be able to receive Gardasil at no cost beginning immediately. Perry spokesperson Krista Moody said the state would increase funding for existing health programs by $29.4 million annually to help cover the cost of the vaccine for low-income women (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/9). The lawsuit, filed in a Travis County, Texas, court challenges Perry's authority to issue the executive order and seeks to suspend the use of state funds for purchasing the vaccine until the matter is resolved, the group's attorney, Kenneth Chaiken, said. "The school-age girls of Texas are not guinea pigs who may be subjected to medial procedures at the apparent whim of Texas' governor," the lawsuit says (Vertuno, AP/Kansas City Star, 2/23). Moody said, "The governor is standing by his executive order," adding, "We certainly didn't anticipate this much commotion for a vaccine that can prevent cancer" (Los Angeles Times, 2/25).

Editorial
States should approve mandates that girls receive an HPV vaccine because it is the "best way" to ensure that all children -- "not just those who are aware of it and can afford it" -- get an HPV vaccine, a New York Times editorial says. The "strongest arguments" against quickly mandating HPV vaccination all "tend to be practical and financial," according to the editorial. It is possible that "unexpected side effects could emerge," and health workers "need to be certain that there are stable supplies, adequate insurance coverage, ample public money to vaccinate low-income children and physician support," the editorial says. Mandating vaccination would "force the health care system to get cracking" on such issues, the editorial says (New York Times, 2/26).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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