Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the Senate on September 12, 2006, to require the parents or guardian of every female child entering sixth grade in a public or nonpublic school to either have the child vaccinated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, or sign a statement to the effect that he or she had received information schools would be required to distribute on the connection between HPV and cervical cancer, and had elected for the child not to receive the vaccine

The vote was 36 in favor, 1 opposed and 1 not voting

(Senate Roll Call 719 at Senate Journal 85)

Click here to view bill details.

It's a sad day when we are seriously considering vaccinating ELEVEN-YEAR-OLDS for a sexually transmitted disease. What an indictment of us as parents that we would even need to consider this.

It gives choice. Doesn't get much better than that. Way to go!

Did you know they sell two different versions of some magazines? The European version and the American version because we are so uptight about sexuality and the simple functions of our bodies and how they work. All girls need to be told is that this shot can help prevent a type of cancer. Parents have a choice, anyway. They are simply given the opportunity. A real chance to think about it. Any talk parents want to have and the timing off it completely up to the parents. This legislators is a real leader!

Excellent LEADERSHIP.

I'm a prude because I don't think that 11 year olds should be having sex? Well, I'll gladly take that label and thank you kindly for the compliment. It's about time that we parents start being parents once again and setting limits for our children. We have gone too far down the road of being our children's friends and forgotten how to be parents (limits, rules, respect, responsibility -- anyone remember these?) The fact that this legislation has been on the board for days now and I'm the only one who seems concerned about the message we are sending to our girls illustrates the point.

The government we are told should stay out of our bedroom when it involves what two degenerates are doing but we are supposed to invite them in to teach and vaccinate our 11 year olds?????

I understand why this bill was proposed, and it is sad. I agree with the person who thinks that parents shouldn't be abdicating their responsibility to teach their daughters about chastity and the permanent repurcussions, physical and emotional, that accompany promiscuity. But the reality is that many parents have abdicated, both by word and deed. It's a shame, but an 11 year old girl who has watched her mother, father, and older siblings sleep with anything that walks will have trouble saying "no" when she is tempted. So, the state steps in to help her avoid cancer. Considering the medical ignorance out there, some parents will figure this will also immunize her against all STDs, AIDS and probably pregnancy! Very, very sad.

How misguided Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom is to try and have our state legislature force parents to inoculate their daughters with this drug that has yet to be tested on eleven year old females. Haven’t we learned yet about the dangers of vaccines “Evidence of Harm” David Kirby St. Martins Press? Secondly how is this choice when the senator wants to mandate this vaccine? Is Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom a physician?

Are we to simple give up and think of humanity as no more than “animals”. This truly is the easy way out. One must stop and consider however the damage this drug poses to the ignorant. This is not Nazi Germany where our government can be allowed to herd who they select into clinics and do what they see fit for those selected. Parent’s ultimately have the responsibility to educate their children however this not being a perfect world we will always have those with us who we must help. It is not helping to order parents into a clinic to give a drug you really do not know everything about.

I am no pro at writing to government officials, but here is my attempt at swaying an opinion: Dear Senator *****, I recently read about Senate Bill 1417. In it, Sen. Hammerstrom and yourself, among others, have suggested that the government should require all 6th grade girls to receive an immunization against cervical cancer, which happens to be caused by the the sexually transmitted disease Human Papilloma Virus. I sincerely urge you to NOT promote this Bill. A government-mandated immunization for 6th grade girls for a disease that is spread only through sexual contact will be detrimental to our society and will only undermine the innate sense of reponsibility parents have for their children. Please let me explain... I am the parent of three young daughters. I take my responsibilities as a parent very seriously (as do the majority of parents), and feel it is my job as a mother to inform my daughters about the potential risks of becoming sexually active outside of marriage. I also feel it is my job to ensure that my daughters stay healthy. I do not need a government mandate to help me decide what is “best” for my daughters’ health and well-being. The young girls of our state do NOT need to be “protected” with this proposed legislation, which unfortunately assumes that all pre-teen girls will fall prey to our culture’s expectation that they will become sexually during their pre-teen and teenage years. The young girls of our state need to be assured by their parents, church communities, teachers and adult mentors that they have self-worth and should be saving the gift of their bodies for their life-partners. I have the following concerns regarding Senate Bill 1416: Why are representatives of the people (Republicans, no less) suggesting that parents are unable to be responsible for the well-being of their young daughters? Why are you not more concerned about preventing the sexual activity of young girls, versus just applying a “band-aid” to a larger social issue? Why do you feel it is the government's duty to invade my rights as a parent regarding the health care of my daughters? What right does the government have in requiring a medical procedure for a preventable disease that is caused by only by promiscuous behavior? Why does the government feel it would be best to remove one of the consequences of pre-marital sex? Has our culture become so desensitized to immorality that the government feels it can give blanket permission to our teenagers to engage in promiscuous and dangerous behavior by removing the consequences? I realize that there is a provision in the Bill that would allow parents to decline this immunization (just as there is a waiver form to decline all other immunizations in Michigan), yet how many parents in Michigan will know of this waiver form and exercise their rights as parents? Would our daughters not be better served by having parents who are dedicated to keeping the self-esteem of their daughters as high as possible and teaching their daughters how to resist our culture’s pressures to become sexually active at a young age? Thank you for this opportunity to share my opinion about Senate Bill 1416. Again, I urge you to speak out AGAINST this Bill and the action it proposes. In fact, is there a way to retract this Bill? I would be happy to speak with you, if you have any questions of me. I have included my contact information with this submission.

I must agree with citizen who wrote “letter to my Senator” I agree that as parents it is out duty to fight the uphill battle and teach our daughters that they were created for something important in life. Certainly at the age of eleven that has not been realized yet. I also will write my senator strongly urging not to support HB 1417.

Introduced by Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom on September 12, 2006, to require the parents or guardian of every female child entering sixth grade in a public or nonpublic school to either have the child vaccinated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, or sign a statement to the effect that he or she had received information schools would be required to distribute on the connection between HPV and cervical cancer, and had elected for the child not to receive the vaccine.

Prude? Ignorant? If the shoe fits. You have complete CONTROL. At a doctor's appointment, mark or say, no thanks. You child could be unaware. What's the big deal?

No doubt about it.

I really don't think anyone wants in your bedroom. Don't flatter yourself.

They summarize it as MANDATE. There is a decided CHOICE involved. Introduced by Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom on September 12, 2006, to require the parents or guardian of every female child entering sixth grade in a public or nonpublic school to either have the child vaccinated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, or sign a statement to the effect that he or she had received information schools would be required to distribute on the connection between HPV and cervical cancer, and had elected for the child not to receive the vaccine.

Let's get REAL. This bill is a great idea. Teach your children as you wish and cross your fingers. Plus parents have a CHOICE. Duh!

Really looking out for the children and women of Michigan. It's about time! Too bad it's too late for me. DARN.

You left that tidbit out, sweetie. And give the source.

at the doctor's office. Parents have a choice to opt out. This is wise legislation.

Do you REALLY think that scratching this ONE cancerous disease off the list which most girls have NEVER EVEN HEARD OF BEFORE (really!) is going to have them go buck wild naked sex crazy. PLEASE! That argument doesn't hold water.

I bet many don't even know. So how is this going make them more APT to have sex? WHATEVER! Give me a break.

This person below think our society is going to go straight to HELL in a handbasket of this bill passes. I disagree! "A government-mandated immunization for 6th grade girls for a disease that is spread only through sexual contact will be detrimental to our society and will only undermine the innate sense of reponsibility parents have for their children." The same person below talks about ONE consequence of pre-marital sex. Yup. Just ONE. ONE many have never even heard of. Believe me, it's not a disease you'll see mentioned on the walls of an elementary, middle or high school bathroom in the girls or boys room. "Why does the government feel it would be best to remove one of the consequences of pre-marital sex? "

Well? I support this bill. If it were a MALE disease, it would already no longer exist.

Even if you don't.

on the news. Equality would be nice. It's obviously still an issue. I don't believe in original sin, and I do believe that girls and women should no longer have to die from this. Unless you've got a GPS dot imbedded in your child's skin, consider letting her get this shot. CONSIDER it. That's all this bill asks and it's not unreasonable. It's good leadership. Most of us live in reality. I do NOT fear the wrath of god on this one. Sorry. This is a step in the RIGHT direction.

And more BILLS like this one.

They don't have to teaching anything. It's beautiful. Perfect.

I have a couple of problems with this bill. 1. Why are we requiring schools to dispense medical information? The schools are not dispensing information about any other vaccination so why this one? Dispensing medical information is more properly the province of the doctor's office. 2. Where is the documentation that this vaccine is safe and effective for children? How many studies have been done? Or are our legislators just, as they so often do, jumping on the latest bandwagon with no evidence that this vaccine is safe? 3. Why are we in such a rush to vaccinate girls who are only 11 against a sexually transmitted disease? At 11 they are only really beginning to learn about their bodies and how they work. This is pretty heavy information for children of that age. Why not wait until 9th grade if you are so determined to vaccinate?

This is another case of making money for the pharmaceutical industry at the expense of the health of our children! This vaccine hasnt had time to be adequately tested and you want to inflict it on defenseless children? HPV isnt a deadly disease-and certainly wont be threatening many kindergarteners any time soon. JUst as HIV and Hep C were labeled certain killers 20 years ago only to be proved far less deadly than thought, so likely will this HPV link. This is another fear-driven rush to force families into govt-mandated vaccination programs without concrete reasons. It appears we didnt need a Bird Flu vaccine, or a West Nile vaccine, or a SARS vaccine...and we likely dont need this one. We dont need this law!

Senator Cherry asked and was granted unanimous consent to make a statement and moved that the statement be printed in the Journal. The motion prevailed. Senator Cherry's statement is as follows: I just rise to support this legislation and to say thank you to the Majority Floor Leader for all the work she has done on this. For those of you who do not know, Senator Hammerstrom has not just been a leader of this state, but a national leader on this issue. Mr.President, I look forward to the day when your granddaughter doesn't even have to worry about the incidence of cervical cancer. These bills, both of them, are the first steps in making sure that that happens. In addition to the vaccination process, we have to increase screening and education of screening. So, again, I want to commend the sponsor of this bill for all the work she has done on this issue.

Senator Hardiman's statement is as follows: I rise in support of Senate Bill No.1416 and the previous bill that was passed. When we mention the word "cancer," for many of us, it sends a horrible feeling to our emotions because we have been touched by this awful condition. If there are ways that we can prevent cervical cancer in women, we certainly want to do that. I do support this effort. I want to send my commendations also to the chairperson of Health Policy for bringing this issue forward and also for working with those who made some very wise amendments. I, too, have areas of concerns, one of which is that there be parental consent to this treatment, and the amendments made make this clear that there is parental consent. The second is, because of the nature of the condition we are treating, that there be a very proper message that is sent along with that. Amendments have been made to ensure that as well. So I wholeheartedly support it. Once again, I send my commendations to the good Senator who sponsored the legislation and to those who have helped to improve it.

Senator Hammerstrom's statement is as follows: I want to thank my colleagues for supporting legislation today on the HPV vaccine. As the good doctor, Senator George from the 20th District, has stated, cervical cancer is a terrible disease, and as Senator Jacobs pointed out, it is a disease that is preventable. This new vaccine has proven to be 100 percent effective in safeguarding women from the two strains of the human papillomavirus that are responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. It is a major development in preventing cervical cancer. However, I would be remiss if I did not concur with Senator Cherry's remarks and point out that there are still 30percent of cancers that are caused by other strains of the human papillomavirus and even immunized women will still need regular screenings until such times medical advantages are also available to attack those strains as well. Again, I thank my colleagues for their support today. It is a huge step forward for young women in this state.

"Well? I support this bill. If it were a MALE disease, it would already no longer exist." Suggest you do some research on STDs and how they are transmitted. Suggest you study the target bugs of this legislation. Suggest you study current research presently underway.

No daughter of mine will be getting this shot.

Whether or not you agree with this legislation, requiring schools to dispense this information will add to their operating costs. It seems like I hear of more teachers being laid off every week. Where will the schools get this money? Can't this vaccine be put on the list of the others that are required/"encourged" at the doctor's office?

As with so many government schools, there will be mistakes in the literature. As with so many vaccinces there will be mistakes in the batches. Can Michigan afford a lawsuit, because a parent felt "pressured" by the government school, gave their daughters the stupid vaccine and they ended up with cervical cancer because the vaccine batch was bad? To require this is STUPID!!! IT GOES WAY BEYOND WHAT ARE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE DOING!!!! DUH!!!

ghhghj

We can turn off more lights, make more 2 sided copies. We are talking about preventing DEATH here. Schools CAN make this sacrifice. I support this legislation. A teacher in a school with cutbacks.