To the Morons Who Think a Cancer Vaccine Promotes Sex in Teens...

So there's this controversy going on in states all across the country. You've probably heard about it: the HPV vaccine, a vaccine that prevents cervical cancer in women caused by a virus that is transmitted sexually. In fact, 50% of all cases of cervical cancer are caused by this virus. And now there is a vaccine that will prevent 50% of cancer cases.

But there is this shouting--very annoying, ridiculous shouting, if one must be honest--from the right-wing, crying out, "This sends the message that premarital sex is okay!"

I guess they must have cried the same thing when the chicken pox vaccine came out, right? "This promotes the touching of other people! This promotes premarital sex!"

For people who are so against sex, they sure do think about it a lot, don't they?

Let me ask you: Whether or not your teen "plans" on having sex before marriage anyway, what's to say their spouse also stayed "virginal" before marriage? (Odds are not good; of course, odds are that even if you think your teen is still a virgin, they aren't...) So even if your child stay "clean" until marriage, they could still get the virus--and still get cancer, cancer you could have prevented. But you were to worried about your daughters cherry instead of the agonizing, painful cancer that you had the power to prevent. This is like saying mandatory seat-belt wearing encourages reckless driving (and if you have a study that says it does, I'd like to see it).

Should the vaccine be mandatory? I'm not sure--there should be plenty of studies on the dangers, adverse reactions, chances of actually getting the disease to be vaccinated against... There are a lot of considerations. I think parents should have the option of when to vaccinate their kids, but when does this become child endangerment? Much like those sects and cults of the population that believe in prayer but put no stock at all in medicine (like Jehovah's witnesses and blood transfusions), or believe that medicine has no value whatsoever, they are endangering their child! So where's the line to be drawn? I'm not sure...

Regardless, this is a vaccine against CANCER. The big C word. All of us have been affected by the big C, whether ourselves, a friend, a family member--no one's life is entirely free from it. And now there is hope against one of the many forms the big C takes... Let's see, which is the bigger concern...

You can teach your child abstinence until your blue in the face--there's no guarantee they'll stay that way. And if you don't teach your kid about safe sex, you're practically ensuring that they'll either come home pregnant or with a disease when they do have sex... And then where will you be? Are you telling me that not having sex is more important than preventing a disease that could end your child's life? So what if the virus is sexually transmitted--why do you have to tell your child that? Tell them it's a shot to prevent certain types of cancer to her lady-parts--end of discussion! You silly morons think everything revolves around sex, when this isn't about sex at all--it's about preventing cancer. Are you willing to look your child in the face 10 to 20 years down the road, and tell them why they now have cancer? Because you were to concerned about sex to worry about cancer? Really?

Stupid idiots. Fine, let your kids get cancer. Watch them go through surgery, chemo, perhaps death--and then think about how you might have prevented this death by getting your head out of your ass...