California Governor Brown Mulls A Derivative Of the Texas Gardasil® Conflagration

While the abandoned 2007 Texas measure was a mandatory Gardasil^® vaccination order (signed by Governor Perry, but then withdrawn) -- and the current California bill (a piece of legislation) is only a "no parental involvement required" for vaccination of girls-as-young-as-12 bill -- the issues are largely the same: whether the potential preventative (public health) effect of the HPV vaccine outweighs a long-standing parental right to be involved in their childrens' medical decision-making. [To be fair, this Califronia measure, unlike the Texas one, is not Merck-product specific, now that another brand of HPV vaccine has cleared FDA approval.]

Note that this is not a juvenile reproductive rights measure -- in those settings, I support childrens' right to access birth control devices and drugs. I have trouble, on the other hand, allowing even a vaccine which is generally well-tolerated to be given to a 12 year old girl without parental involvement. That strikes me as an unwise extension trasferring to the states the responsibilities of parenthood.

Here is a bit of the fine San Jose Mercury-Sun's coverage -- do go read it all:

. . . .Religious leaders, pro-family organizations and GOP lawmakers have warned the change would erode the rights of parents to be involved in their children's medical decisions. Supporters say the legislation is needed to keep up with new prevention treatments and help slow the spread of STDs among minors.

The bill passed the California Legislature along mostly party lines and now is on Brown's desk. He has until Oct. 9 to act on AB499 and has not signaled his intent.

Currently, California minors are allowed to seek diagnosis and treatment for STDs such as the human papillomavirus, known as HPV, without parental consent but cannot get vaccinated without their parent's approval. HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer. . . .

There are some reasonable arguments on the other side of the debate, but I still think the measure is ill-considered. We will follow-up as developments warrant, between now and October 9.