Should HPV Vaccination Be Mandatory Research Paper

Should HPV Vaccination Be Mandatory - Research Paper Example Researchers indicate that cervical cancer is more prevalent in women at a younger age. However, mandatory vaccination for cervical cancer can cause a series of consequences. This paper will discuss why young girls should not be given mandatory vaccination for preventing cervical cancer. The HPV vaccination was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration recently in 2006 and therefore its long term effects are still unknown to the world. Ashton reveals that the effects of HPV vaccination can lead to fatal motor accidents and suicides. According to the US Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System, a number of adverse side effects including pancreatitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and spinal cord inflammation have been reported since the approval of the vaccine. â€Å"Although these adverse reactions may be rare, they are not worth the risk since the vaccine only protects against two of the 15 strains of HPV that may cause cancer of the cervix† (â€Å"Should any vaccines be required for children?.†). There are also some doubts about the effectiveness of this vaccine because it was tested only on 1,100 girls; and this number is insufficient to get a clear picture of the vaccine’s ‘functionability’. Researchers have identified that aroun d 15 types of genital HPV out of 30 are likely to lead to cervical cancer. However, the Gardasil provides coverage against only two of the 15 and therefore it cannot be considered as an effective vaccine to HPV. Hence, this vaccine provides coverage against only some limited viral strains. Evidently, the US government has not done adequate researches to explore the long term impacts of such a mandate. Since its long term implications still remain to be unknown, the mandatory vaccination is more likely to lead to additional health issues. In other words, the US government risks the public backlash through the mandatory HPV vaccination. Obviously, the HPV vaccination must not be mandated before its long term side effects are clearly identified. Ethically, parents have the ultimate right to make health decisions for their children and therefore the government should not intervene in those decisions. According to a survey conducted by the University of Michigan, 31% of parents do not su pport mandatory school entry vaccinations (â€Å"Should any vaccines be required for children?.†). They hold the view that they must have the authority to refuse such vaccinations. Many of the US parents hold the view that the process of vaccination is religiously wrong. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees citizens to freely exercise their religious belief. Hence, the forcible vaccination would violate the first Amendment. Similarly, this mandatory vaccination policy gives exception to boys and hence it can be considered as the direct violation of constitutional principles of equity. Forcible enforcement of mandatory HPV vaccination would result in public backlash and this situation may adversely affect childhood vaccine programs for other diseases. Many people strongly argue in favor of the proposal by pointing to other mandatory vaccinations against measles and smallpox. They ask why it is necessary to give exception to mandatory HPV vaccination while practicing mandatory vaccination against several other diseases. Here, it must be noted that the HPV is not airborne and sexual contact is the major cause of cervical cancer. The government has a potential motive to protect its people from a deadly airborne virus because