FDA approves HPV vaccine — despite conservative complaints

June 9, 2006

I was more than a little worried that the [tag]FDA[/tag] would cave to conservative political pressure (again), but the agency clearly did the right thing yesterday.

In what officials called a major public health breakthrough, the [tag]Food and Drug Administration[/tag] yesterday approved the first vaccine developed to protect women against cervical cancer.

The vaccine, which works by building immunity against the sexually transmitted [tag]human papillomavirus[/tag], was found to be effective in preventing almost three-quarters of all cervical cancers.

“This vaccine is a significant advance in the protection of women’s health in that it strikes at the infections that are the root cause of many cervical cancers,” said FDA Acting Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach.

He predicted that the vaccine — the first ever designed specifically to prevent a cancer — will have a “dramatic effect” on the health of women worldwide.

The reason this was even a debate at all in public health circles is that some far-right political activists have criticized the vaccine, regardless of its benefits, because they feared young women might believe they can have sex without getting cervical cancer. The Family Research Council explained, “Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex.”

Let’s be clear: this [tag]HPV[/tag] vaccine offers the promise of preventing [tag]cervical[/tag] [tag]cancer[/tag] and saving thousands of lives. For some conservatives, however, it comes down to a fairly straightforward position: The vaccine may lead to more pre-marital sex, which ultimately trumps everything else.

To be fair, not every conservative group who weighed in on this debate felt that way. Some organizations backed the vaccine, but oppose making it mandatory. That’s at least open to some debate.

But there was nevertheless a sizable [tag]religious right[/tag] bloc that fought this vaccine every step of the way. Fortunately, the FDA had the good sense to look past their callousness.

up until now an overriding fear of cervical cancer has been the one thing keeping millions of girls chaste and virginal

  • Hi CB!
    I too looked at this as good news, and it is, but there are still recommendations that need to be made related to dosing (age, frequency, dosage, etc.) where there is a possibility of interference according to this site:
    http://feministing.com/archives/005183.html (warning–some vulgar language but good info include contact info to make public comments). Focus on the Family nominated a doctor who is on the board making these recommendations.

  • I have faith the republicants will find some way to block the actual distribution of the vaccine while touting the fact that it was a Republicant administration that saved milliions of women’s lives. Just watch.

  • It just hasn’t been a good week for the Theocratic Reactionaries. Didn’t get their FMA, didn’t get their Estate Tax repeal, and didn’t get to block the HPV vacine.

    Though at $360 a treatment, it is pretty steep. Don’t look to the state or Feds to step in a pay for it until Boy George II leaves office.

  • Like Andy said, the threat of cervical cancer is the farthest thing from the minds of hormone fueled adolescents. Of course, young women might actually think about the connection between cervical cancer and sex if they had access to a proper sexual education. I do fear that the vaccine will still be blocked.

  • The timing of this is interesting – I’m sure the WH realised that FDA approval was inevitable but brought pressure to bear to ensure that it would cause the least political damage. They may have figured that it would attract less attention with all the focus on Zarqawi, or maybe they thought that bringing the FMA to a Senate vote, win or lose, gave them a temporary cred-window with the fundies. Or maybe they guessed that the fundies’ furious reaction – that’s it! marriage is dead! might as well start having orgies, in which case dibs on Schlafly! – would take place Friday, which puts it in Saturday’s editions & hence under the DC radar.

  • Our country is nuts, especially when it comes to sex. Nuts? laughable actually (except for the human tragedies which result).

    We pretend adolescents aren’t the way we were at that age, as if elevated interest in sexuality were a choice rather than a force of nature. We pretend that “mistakes” (conceptions, diseases) result from God’s punishment rather than our ignorance. International studies reveal America as “off the chart” in virtually all dimensions of sexuality.

    I wonder how long FDA Acting Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach expects to hold his job.

  • “they feared young women might believe they can have sex without getting cervical cancer”

    With a vaccine, they CAN have sex without getting cervical cancer. HPV is the only cause of cervical cancer. But SO WHAT! You’d rather girls have sex (which, virginity pledge or no, they are going to do) and get cancer? Which kills around 300,000 people a year? Seriously?
    If we had any kind of comprehensive sex ed program in this country then at least we could arm them with information if we can’t arm them with a mandatory vaccine.

  • It drives me nuts that the Democrats aren’t pushing these wedge issues, which are the best way to marginalize the Christofascists.

    The ad writes itself:

    “Your family, not Focus on the Family, should get to decide whether or not your kids should have a potentially life-saving vaccination. Call Republican Congressman Rich White and ask if he supports cervical cancer vaccination.”

  • “Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex.”

    FYI, we all have a license to have premarital sex, because premarital sex is not against the law! This is so telling of their position: confusing their beliefs with the law.

    I appreciate that qualifying “women” with “young” masks this as an under-age sex thing, but then they should have said that. And plenty of women are “young” well after they are legally allowed to engage in sex.

  • STDs are the religious right’s stick to beat into our heads that bad things happen to bad people — for a reason. Wishing bad luck on others is bad policy. A completely virginal bride could get cervical cancer if her mate has had other partners. And it could be their daughter next. Disease punishes the innocent as well as the “guilty.” These guys love their punishment, that’s why they’re described as God-fearing people.

  • what r u religious rights going to say next? “lets not cure aids cause kid will have sex?” get off ur high horse. kids r going to be kids and if they are interested in having sex nothing is going to stop them so let stop the bickering and try to make this a safer and more educated world.

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