If there was ever a case study for the separation of the church and the education system in this country, the minor furore which erupted around the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) vaccination – which the government wants given to girls in school as it is believed to prevent 70% of cervical cancers – would be it. My old nemeses, the Catholic Church in Scotland, backed down on their initial reluctance to allow the vaccine in their schools after reaching a compromise deal sparing them from having to also give out safe sex advice, but now a school in Manchester is refusing to let the vaccine be administered on its premises.
Advice from the Roman Catholic Church says there is nothing wrong with allowing the cervical cancer vaccinations to be given.
But governors at St Monica’s – which has 1,200 pupils – have sent a letter to parents outlining their concerns about the vaccine.
In it, they question the effectiveness of the injections and possible side effects.
…It states: “We do not believe that school is the right place for the three injections to be administered.
“Therefore, governors have taken the decision not to allow the school premises to be used for this programme.”
The whole sorry mess smacks of here we go again. HPV is a sexually transmitted virus, but a vaccination against it isn’t yet another tiresome sexual education in schools debate – it’s a public health issue. A government initiative that could save lives, by preventing a disease which killed my own grandmother, should be welcomed, not met with the same old religious bureaucracy.
The Church’s argument seems to be that the vaccination gives teenage girls tacit license to go out and be as promiscuous as they like because they’re protected from one sexually-transmitted disease. I’m not sure on what they base this logic, but surely – oh, it’s unavoidable – a decent sex education programme would set them straight? I think the only way you could be naive enough to assume that the vaccination also protects you from herpes, gonnorhea, chlamydia, HIV is if nobody bothers to inform you of the existence of them.
The head in the sand approach to sexual health – if we don’t talk about it, then they’re not going to do it – does not work!. I’ll never forget the one concession to sex education I got in my own Catholic school – an afternoon’s talk from those nice wee ladies from Natural Family Planning, who informed us that condoms did not work. The girl in the room who got pregnant at fourteen could, I hope, see the funny side.
In an ideal world, it would be nice to assume that teaching kids the realities of sexual health and the emotional impact of sexual relationships was a job for the parents. But the truth is that as the family unit becomes increasinly fractured, the school has to play a more prominent role.
This off the cuff, ranty update was brought to you by my fast-approaching deadline and one hell of a Catholic school hangover.
….i don’t really need to add a comment as everyone with common sense and a modern brain knows what i’ll say….
Instanity.
Thanks for sharing though.
You know what I actually dream about? The day when some form of Catholic institution comes out and says “okay, we’re not wild about it, but we’ll agree to allow ‘x’ because people not dying horribly is more important than this book we keep banging on about”. Don’t see that day coming anytime soon though
My major issue with the HPV vaccine thing–well, my major issue other than that it’s a shot and therefore it’s a needle and thanks but no thanks other than my tattoo on the needle-age–is that I think the vaccine here in the US, Gardasil, is marketed too aggressively.
TMI WARNING!!
My gyno keeps pushing me to get it even though I’ve got none of the risk factors and frankly my insurance won’t cover it. I don’t mean pushing it like, “I think this would be a good idea,” but pushing it like, “If you don’t get this you WILL ABSOLUTELY DIE of cervical cancer despite the fact that you have none of the risk factors other than your age. YOU WILL DIE–get the shot.” Um, no thanks, there, lady.
I agree, though, that it’s a public health issue for some people. Not me, but some people. And I hate when a church argues that sexual safety tools will promote sex. The sex is already happening–why not promote, I don’t know, not having an unplanned pregnancy, or an incurable disease, or whatever? Since kids are going to have sex if they want to, it seems illogical not to try and at least protect them from the worst possible end results of that. Ugh.
1. @ Sara: My gyno said the EXACT same thing. He was even more adamant about it when he learned that I would be moving from Ohio to DC – where he said I would most certainly be raped or date raped. I already was in favor of the vaccine and was planning on getting it anyway, without the lesson in ZOMG DANGEROUS BIG CITY!
2. @ Lis: This is why we’re friends. My (Catholic/Republican) dad, two weeks later, I’ll point out, is still trying to come up with a comment for my post on this subject. Even public schools over here are still not whole-heartedly behind allowing Gardasil in schools, which is terrifying. But I guess that’s to be expected when the only way you can receive federal funding for sex education is if it’s strictly abstinence only.
The way that pharmaceutical brands are pushed in the US is something I find pretty disturbing. I remember flicking through channelsworth of daytime telly in NYC and being totally taken aback by TV commercials for drugs – that just doesn’t happen here, as prescriptions are so heavily subsidised by the NHS that practically everything is generic. Another little thing to remind myself of when I get depressed about the way things are in the UK… we have so many benefits that other countries don’t.
Just thought I’d let you know–my site has changed. WordPress deleted it this morning for mp3 postings, which is fine; totally their right. I should have had a disclaimer and an expiration date for my mp3 postings. The new address is http://ucellucciasara.wordpress.com/ and will be up and running in the next week or so. Sorry for the inconvenience.
– Sara