Principles in Practice: The Blog of the Objective Standard

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Faith vs. the HPV Vaccine

Posted by ARI Media at 10:56 AM

Irvine, CA—Following the landmark discovery of a vaccine that prevents infection by the most dangerous strains of HPV, a sexually transmitted disease known to cause cervical cancer, Michigan wants to require girls to get vaccinated. Yet some parents are refusing for fear their children will see it as a license to have premarital sex. It's an issue of morality, these parents claim.

"This is a false alternative," said Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute. "It is true that it is wrong for the government to force vaccinations for a disease spread only through sexual contact. But it is also wrong for parents to deprive their children of a life-saving vaccine, in the name of the puritanical view that premarital sex is inherently sinful.

"Parents should be free to have their children vaccinated or not, but they should make that decision based on medical evidence—not on religious dogma."

Labels: Healthcare, Religion