The kerfuffle between Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry over the HPV vaccination, administered to young girls in order to prevent cervical cancer later in life, is the perfect example of why you might not want a politician to be your pediatrician.
During a debate last week in Tampa, Bachmann described the vaccination, which Perry attempted to make mandatory in Texas where he is governor, as a "government injection" and "a violation of a liberty interest."
She said the vaccine had "potentially dangerous" side effects and, speaking on "The Today Show" the next morning with Matt Lauer, that an unidentified woman came up to her after the debate and said that her daughter had become mentally retarded as a result of the series of three shots.
The medical community went completely nuts, as you might imagine, and demanded that the mother be identified or come forward so that this claim could be substantiated. Two doctors put up bounties of $1,000 and $10,000, respectively, for proof of the claim.
And the American Academy of Pediatrics, which almost never gets into this kind of political fight, issued a statement saying "there is absolutely no scientific validity" to statements that the HPV vaccination is dangerous or causes retardation.
Meanwhile, Perry defended his decision as one that "erred on the side of life," failing to mention that his former chief of staff is now a lobbyist for Merck, the drug's manufacturer, which had contributed to his campaign and stood to gain mightily if the vaccination was required for schoolgirls in a state as big as Texas.
Bachmann and Perry behaved reprehensibly. And Merck, which would no doubt love to see its $400 vaccination become the generational cash cow that any mandatory childhood vaccine can be, was almost as bad.
Bachmann tried to scare parents with visions of "innocent little 12-year-old girls" strapped onto gurneys and forced to endure injections mandated by Big Government. And Perry appears to have profited by agreeing to grant a pharmaceutical giant access to his state's children in return for $30,000 in campaign contributions.
Ugh.
For the record, the vaccination has been administered to more than 35 million girls and young women, and the 35 deaths that subsequently occurred were investigated by the Centers for Disease Control and no cause and effect were found.
Meanwhile, cervical cancer strikes about 12,000 women a year and kills about 4,000. The vaccine has been found to prevent the viral strains that cause about 70 percent of those cancers. It is so effective that a similar vaccine has been developed for boys, who are the carriers of this sexually transmitted disease.
The drug has been found to be most effective when administered before sexual activity begins and when it will produce the best immune response in the body — between the ages of 9 and 12.
Studies have shown the average age of sexual initiation in this country is about 15 or 16 — and that parents are just about clueless when it comes to their children's sexual lives.
That's a topic for another time. But the bottom line is, the HPV vaccination is not a starter pistol for teen sex any more than access to condoms might be, no matter what worried parents might fear. The kids are way ahead of us when it comes to sexual decision-making.
In the end, Perry's attempt to make the vaccination law in Texas failed. The legislature voted to overturn his executive order, and Perry did not veto its rejection.
So much for erring on the side of life.