The whole article bothers me with such terminology as 'refuse to follow', 'opportunity to educated', and more... hinting that those mothers (like myself) who do not see the benefit, but fully recognize all the risks, of the Gardisil vaccine are not educated and should follow the herd to be a good parent. But this comment just. floored. me.
"This shows that there's a difficulty in having mothers recognize that their children will become sexually active at a relatively young age," said Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La. "It's a process and it's an attitudinal change that has to occur."
This doctor (and article) is saying that we should expect and know that our young children will be having premarital sex.
I don't expect my daughters will. Some of you are thinking 'she's naive'. But no, I expect that my daughters will not seek out the company of a member the opposite gender who cannot respect them. I expect that they will be raised with an integritous group of friends who will help keep them accountable. I expect that they will be raised with the understanding and appreciation of a courting relationship rather than a dating relationship.
I expect to take my responsibility seriously... to protect them from temptation, teach them about the value of abstinence, demonstrate for them a healthy marriage relationship and to respect the marriage covenant.
I expect to teach them about motherhood, how to appreciate and respect their physical body. How to understand their bodies longings as healthy but created for a specific design.
That is what I expect. And if that means not 'following' the CDC's guidelines, then I am proud to not be a part of that herd. Their daddy and I pray that they will be raised up in the way that they should go so that they would not stray from it. I won't give permission for a precaution to an act that should not be an permissed.
It is my job to protect them in that way, not by injecting them with a potentially very harmful substance. *sigh*
And finally, on the medical side of things, an article posted on Natural News.com talks about the risks of the new HPV vaccine. The risks of this vaccine seem to far out weigh the benefits.
Many doctors are not recommending this vaccine, because in addition to the serious adverse reactions and deaths that have been reported, they have concerns about the vaccine’s long-term safety and efficacy. In her well-written book called The Parents’ Concise Guide to Childhood Vaccinations, Dr. Lauren Feder notes that the pain that many girls experience after the shot is probably due to the aluminum adjuvants in the vaccine. She also cautions that the vaccine contains polysorbate 80, a substance linked to infertility in mice. After some deliberation, it was her opinion that the vaccine had more risks than benefits.
10 comments:
Thank you for your well-written piece. I'll be linking to you on my own journal. I have many of the same expectations that you do for my children. I also find it infuriating that the culture around us (general) wants to teach kids that they can be above the temptations of drugs/alcohol/gangs/guns/whatever... but when it comes to sexual temptation, "you're just a mammal - go for it."
So while I'm having my 9 year old inoculated for an STD, should I sign her up for birth control, too? I mean, if she can't control herself, why not, right? What should I do with my son?
It is really interesting that you should bring this up. In my book club, we have a group of Christian women from many different faiths.
My friends son is getting married and in book club we were talking about their wedding and if their was anything she should tell him to prepare him for the wedding night. Assuming he and his wife are waiting... half of the women were surprised that they are waiting, seemed incredulous about it. The other half thought it was great and expected they would wait.
My DH and I waited and will teach our boys about the importance of chastity. I am glad there are other moms out their teaching their girls about it as well!
Just a little story I have to share:
When my sister went for a yearly check up after being married a couple years ago, the nurse that she saw recommended she get this vaccine. She said that neither of them had had any other partners (and other things) and she wasn't interested, the nurse became very sarcastic and (after telling her that she didn't really know about her husband's sexual past) told her that when they got divorced in 10 years, she's be sorry.
Whoa. Talk about bullying.
Amen! My mother once told me that our children will live up to (or at least try) our expectations reguardless or whether those expectations are high or low. You said once something to the effect of "I'm not going to enable my children to live that kind of lifestyle."
I think it is interesting that they market gardisil as a cancer vaccine and not a vaccine against an STD.
I so agree! I am also very annoyed by the marketing campaign, because of the reason Lindsay mentioned. It is *not* a "cancer vaccine". Ick. But what a great way to snag people.
We have no daughters (yet) but if this stuff is still on the market when we do, they will not be getting it.
I know this sounds paranoid, but I have to wonder if the potential infertility factor is considered a good thing by those pushing this shot so heavily. Between teen pregnancies and "overpopulation", I imagine some would consider it no great loss for several generations of young women to have their fertility severely impaired. :(
A correction for one of the comments here: the vaccine protects against 4 strains of the HPV virus which most often cause cervical cancer. The vaccine doesn't prevent other strains of HPV which can cause the STD known as genital warts. So the vaccine is to protect against cancer, not the STD.
I definitely understand the concerns about girls at young ages getting this, especially for those whose families want to raise them with different expectations about when to be sexually active. One reason for recommending it for girls at a very young age -- 11 or 12 -- is that the vaccine is only effective before HPV is contracted. This is an age before most girls (hopefully!) are sexually active, so it's recommended then. That's not to say that the expectation is that 11 and 12 year olds are having sex.
I personally think parents should be able to choose whether their daughters will get this vaccine. On the other hand, though, what if your daughter becomes sexually active at whatever age, and acquires HPV and then cervical cancer? What if the vaccine could have prevented that but she didn't get it? I think there are ethical questions on all sides to consider.
People think we're nuts, but this is exactly why we refused the Hep B vaccination. My doctor still wearily asks us at each appointment, but he's gotten no satisfaction yet. I'm not going to inject parts of a /disease/ into a newborn (or toddler now) based on the assumption that he'll engage in risky behaviors as a teenager.
when i first saw the ads on the tv for this vaccine, i thought it was a joke! but that's how our fear-mongering government works, so i'm not the least bit surprised that it's becoming widely acceptable that vaccines such as this one is becoming the norm. i personally don't think it will be part of my daughter's 'prevention' plan as she grow into her own womanhood and responsibility for her heatlth and sexuality. but then again, i'm only a 40 something woman who's dodged the bullet so far. *snicker*
oh, this just disgusts me...
Lil
Emily stands to be corrected. Gardasil protects against 2 of the forms of HPV that may lead to cervical cancer. The other 2 forms of HPV that the vaccine protects against are forms that cause venereal warts.
Women will still need routine pap smears.
Awesome post about what you EXPECT. So glad I foudn your blog!!
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