Uncle Horn Head

Fantastic News (to some)

It looks like Merck has developed a vaccine that could help block cervical cancer:

..."This trial confirms that a vaccine can give young women a high level of protection from developing precancerous lesions and early cervical cancers," said Laura Koutsky, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington, who led the study.

Human papilloma virus - or HPV - is a sexually transmitted disease that can cause a wide variety of problems in both men and women, the most serious of which is cervical cancer.

Dr. Lucy Gilbert, Chief of Gynecological Oncology at the McGill University Health Centre, said the risk is wide spread.

"Reality is, 70 per cent of people who are sexually active - you don't even have to be promiscuous - 70 per cent of people who are sexually active come in contact with the virus."...

You'd think that everyone would be ecstatic at this news. You'd be wrong. The Family Research Council has a problem with preventing cancer:

...In the US, for instance, religious groups are gearing up to oppose vaccination, despite a survey showing 80 per cent of parents favour vaccinating their daughters. "Abstinence is the best way to prevent HPV," says Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council, a leading Christian lobby group that has made much of the fact that, because it can spread by skin contact, condoms are not as effective against HPV as they are against other viruses such as HIV.

"Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a licence to engage in premarital sex," Maher claims, though it is arguable how many young women have even heard of the virus...

This boggles the mind. Old white men trying to push their "values" on families. Pre-marital sex is going to happen as sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow. The penalty shouldn't be death.
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