On the HPV shot...

The HPV vaccine is given to teenaged girls and young women in a series of 3 shots, and should prevent 70% of cervical cancer cases. It appears to be an extremely beneficial vaccine, but since it has only been around for less than 2 years, it could cause side affects years from now. 2 states in the US have made it a law that all girls MUST get this shot. This is controversial because some families believe that it is their decision whether to get the shot for their daughter or not. One reason for this is because of the unknown side affects. Another reason is that cervical cancer is spread from the man to the women through sexxxual intercourse, and parents believe that if they give their daughter the shot to prevent cervical cancer, they are condoning fornication. I agree that the government shouldn't demand that girls get this shot, at least until we know that there are no side affects, but I don't think that parents should not let their daughters get this vaccine just because they think it might make their daughter have sex. Even if they have the vaccine, they still have to worry about other things, such as STD's and pregnancy, and if they are not concerned with these things, then they're probably not concerned with contracting cervical cancer either. Plus, if that girl grows up and gets married to a virgin who has no STD's and is a very decent person, that doesn't make her chance of getting cervical cancer any less. It is better to protect your daughter now against something the man she marries can't control, than not let her get the vaccine and end up regretting it when she gets older and contracts cervical cancer.