Legislature Gives Authority to Mandate HPV

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http://usgala.blogspot.com/2009/06/legislature-gives-authority-to-mandate.htmlWednesday, June 17, 2009Legislature Gives Authority to Mandate HPVLast year Capitol Resource Family Impact led the fight to stop AB 16, legislation that would have mandated the controversial HPV vaccine for girls as young as 11. The bill also stripped the legislature of its authority to individually approve mandatory vaccines for children, giving that power to the State Department of Public Health and a small panel of health "experts" in Washington, DC. Due to public outcry, AB 16 was quietly amended to instead mandate HPV vaccine coverage by health insurance providers. This was a victory for parental rights and the ability of parents to direct healthcare decisions for their children. Now, some in the legislature are trying to authorize the HPV vaccine and strip the legislature of its authority over public health requirements. AB 354 (Arambula) will grant the State Department of Health sole authority to mandate immunizations recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the American Academy of Family Physicians. All three organizations recommend the HPV vaccine for girls as young as 11 years of age. Under the current process, citizens can call their lawmakers and urge them to not mandate immunizations for diseases like HPV, which is acquired through intimate contact. Once the State Department of Public Health has sole authority to mandate any and all immunizations, the people will have no say in the process, nor will they be able to hold accountable the decision makers in the department. "Legislators were very sneaky in the way they crafted the language of AB 354, trying to hide what they are doing from fellow lawmakers and the public," explained Karen England, Executive Director of Capitol Resource Family Impact. "It is shameful that legislators will use such deception in order to mandate vaccines approved using questionable science." AB 354 will be heard in Senate Health Committee tomorrow, June 17th, at 1:30pm. Please call the members of the committee and tell them to vote NO on AB 354. We don't want unelected bureaucrats telling us what vaccines we must give our children, especially when those vaccines are for sexual lifestyle choices. Also, the legislature-accountable to the people-should maintain the power to determine when public health merits mandatory immunizations for easily communicable diseases. Senate Health Committee Elaine Alquist (Chair) Phone: 916 651 4013 Fax: 916 324 0283 Sam Aanestad Phone: 916 651 4004 Fax: 916 445 7750 Gilbert Cedillo Phone: 916 651 4022 Fax: 916 327 8817 Dave Cox Phone: 916 651 4001 Fax: 916 324 2680 Mark DeSaulnier Phone: 916 651 4007 Fax: 916 445-2527 Mark Leno Phone: 916 651 4003 Fax: 916 445-4722 Abel Maldonado Phone: 916 651 4015 Fax: 916 445 8081 Gloria Negrete McLeod Phone: 916 651 4032 Fax: 916 445 0128 Fran Pavley Phone: 916 651 4023 Fax: 916 324-4823 Tony Strickland (Vice Chair) Phone: 916 651 4019 Fax: 916 324-7544 Lois Wolk Phone: 916 651 4005 Fax: 916 323-2304About VaccinesPediatric Vaccine Ingredients and Possible Side EffectsHPV/GardasilChildcare and School Immunization RequirementsExemptions Allowed (2007-2008) =====In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.