Illinois Catholic leaders criticize proposed HPV vaccination mandate

Published: 2007-04-05

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (CNS) -- Catholic leaders in Illinois are speaking out against proposed legislation that would require all girls entering sixth grade in the state to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, saying the mandate could have an adverse moral impact on minors. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2006, the vaccine, marketed as Gardasil, protects against four HPV strains that are responsible for 70 percent of fatal cervical cancers and 90 percent of contagious sexually transmitted diseases, according to Curtis Allen, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The HPV vaccine can be a responsible way to protect young women from the horror of cervical cancer," said the Catholic Conference of Illinois, the public policy arm of the Catholic Church in state, in a statement on its Web site. "There is nothing wrong with the vaccine itself," said Zach Wichmann, associate director of the Catholic conference. But mandating that young girls must receive this particular vaccine might send the message that teenage sexual relationships and encounters are acceptable, Wichmann said. "Parents should be able to decide" about allowing their minor children to undergo the vaccination process, he added.

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