Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has been rebuked by the state Legislature for ordering Texan girls to be vaccinated against HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer. Lawmakers passed a bill by a comfortable margin that would block the governor’s order for four years.

Perry has been criticized for having close ties to the maker of the vaccine, but the main objection appears to stem from the notion that preventing sexually transmitted diseases somehow encourages promiscuity.


AP via Los Angeles Times:

Republican Rep. Dennis Bonnen, the bill’s House sponsor, said he thought it was fair and reasonable.

“I think the governor should see this as the Legislature making a very clear and respectful statement, and I hope he’ll accept our wishes,” Bonnen said.

The vaccine protects girls and women against strains of the sexually transmitted virus that cause most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts.

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