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urgh
It's unsettling when I find myself on the side of religious conservatives, though my reasons are rather distinct from theirs.
I'm talking about Rick Perry's mandating the HPV vaccine for young girls, of course. While I support the mandate to make it freely available to girls up to age 18 who can't afford it, and am slightly mollified by the opt-out option, I'm not sure "stop legislating my body" would satisfy Texas bureaucrats as a suitable "philosophical objection".
I have a confession: I'm not pro-choice because I'm okay with abortion. I personally can't look at a sonogram and not see it as anything but a growing life. I'm pro-choice because I can accept that my perspective here is not everyone's, but especially because I am far more attached to my right to control what goes on with my body. And until it comes out, a fetus is a part of a woman's body - very parasitically so, really - and what happens to it is her decision.
Mandatory vaccines ping my discomfort zone for similar reasons. And I support vaccines! I've been known to call parents stupid when they don't immunize their kids. Since 5 year olds really can't make the decision for themselves, in that case I think parents have a responsibility to err on the side of caution since it's their beliefs, their choice, affecting their kid's body and health. So I don't see it as an entirely analogous issue, but still, when it comes down to it, I'd be on the side of the right to choose.
This is a little different; twelve-year-olds can to a greater extent have a more informed opinion as to what goes on with their body. Many twelve year old girls are menstruating, and if that doesn't heighten a girl's awareness of her relationship with her body, I don't know what does. And I'd like to think an intelligent twelve-year old could say "You know what? I'm not comfortable getting this vaccine," and even though I'd personally try to talk her into getting it, I absolutely think she should have the ultimate right to say no, and to have that be sufficient. Not have to talk her parents into getting permission from the government to say no.
I have to say it freaks me out that I'm mostly hearing praise for this decision from the feminist camp.
I'm talking about Rick Perry's mandating the HPV vaccine for young girls, of course. While I support the mandate to make it freely available to girls up to age 18 who can't afford it, and am slightly mollified by the opt-out option, I'm not sure "stop legislating my body" would satisfy Texas bureaucrats as a suitable "philosophical objection".
I have a confession: I'm not pro-choice because I'm okay with abortion. I personally can't look at a sonogram and not see it as anything but a growing life. I'm pro-choice because I can accept that my perspective here is not everyone's, but especially because I am far more attached to my right to control what goes on with my body. And until it comes out, a fetus is a part of a woman's body - very parasitically so, really - and what happens to it is her decision.
Mandatory vaccines ping my discomfort zone for similar reasons. And I support vaccines! I've been known to call parents stupid when they don't immunize their kids. Since 5 year olds really can't make the decision for themselves, in that case I think parents have a responsibility to err on the side of caution since it's their beliefs, their choice, affecting their kid's body and health. So I don't see it as an entirely analogous issue, but still, when it comes down to it, I'd be on the side of the right to choose.
This is a little different; twelve-year-olds can to a greater extent have a more informed opinion as to what goes on with their body. Many twelve year old girls are menstruating, and if that doesn't heighten a girl's awareness of her relationship with her body, I don't know what does. And I'd like to think an intelligent twelve-year old could say "You know what? I'm not comfortable getting this vaccine," and even though I'd personally try to talk her into getting it, I absolutely think she should have the ultimate right to say no, and to have that be sufficient. Not have to talk her parents into getting permission from the government to say no.
I have to say it freaks me out that I'm mostly hearing praise for this decision from the feminist camp.
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http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070221/merck_cancer_vaccine.html?.v=4
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I was also uncomfortable with requiring the vaccine, since the longterm effects are essentially unknown, and the prospect seemed driven much more by profits than by any legitimate public health concern.
It's been a long while since we've talked... we should do that in the not too distant future. Did you ever get my card from Thailand?
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