Looks like Rick Perry may not get to play doctor with the eleven-year-old girls of Texas after all.

A revolt by lawmakers has blocked Gov. Rick PerryÂ’s effort to make Texas the first state to require sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

In a 135-to-2 vote that appeared veto-proof, the Texas House gave final passage on Wednesday to a Senate bill that bars the state from ordering the shots until at least 2011. Even many supporters of the governor resented Mr. PerryÂ’s proposal as an abuse of executive authority.

Indeed, it is the latter issue that is the problem for a great many of us here in Texas. It isn't that we are "pro-cancer" or "anti-woman", but rather that we insist upon the proper constitutional limits on the governor's power be abided by -- adnd Rick Perry blew right through those. We also have some concerns about the vaccine itself, the question of parental rights, and the possible quid-pro-quo that got the governor to issue this executive order.

More to the point, many of us are all for making the vaccine more widely available -- just not mandatory. After all, Merck's ads for Gardasil tell women to ask their doctor IF the vaccine is right for them.

Posted by: Greg at 10:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 227 words, total size 2 kb.