The Texas House of Representatives made the right move in telling Governor Perry to keep his hands off the genitals of the eleven-year-old girls of Texas.

The Texas House sent a veto-proof message to Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday that schoolgirls will not be required to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus linked to cervical cancer.

But Perry wasn't in town to witness the vote overturning his HPV-vaccine mandate, having embarked on an eight-day trip to the Middle East the same day the House took up the measure.

The House vote of 119-21 to tentatively approve the bill demonstrated a comfortable margin in case Perry should decide to veto it. Final passage on the measure is expected today.

"Let's continue to allow only parents and children and doctors to decide if this is right for you," said Rep. Dennis Bonnen, the Angleton Republican who sponsored the bill.

The sponsor of a similar bill in the Senate said he would begin lining up 21 votes needed to bring it up for floor debate. Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, said he expects a committee hearing before the end of March.

"The goal is to get the bill to the governor's desk by the middle or end of April," Hegar said.

Perry would then have 10 days to decide whether to sign the bill, let it become law without his signature or veto it. The bill has been on a fast track to give lawmakers time for a potential veto override — a rare event for a Texas Legislature.

Governor Perry wants to portray this as a vote in favor of cervical cancer. He should be ashamed of himself -- but his conduct in this matter shows he has no shame. This is a question of allowing medical decisions to be made by medical professionals, parents, and patients, not a single government official with questionable authority and even less competence to do so. Medical professionals have demolished his arguments from a scientific standpoint, and the Texas Attorney general has pointed out that Perry lacks the authority to make such a move under the Texas Constitution. Now the legislature is telling him that the move is politically wrong as well.

Hey, Governor Perry -- how about spending your time and energy to get the perverts out of the Texas Youth Commission, where they are sexually abusing young people under their authority on your watch, instead of playing doctor with little girls who just want to go to school!

Posted by: Greg at 02:36 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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