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After I got my first dose of the Gardasil vaccine, I mentioned to my mom that the vaccine is actually reccomended for girls as young as my sister (who's 12). We got into a discussion about how people are actually thinking about making the vaccine mandatory for girls in middle school, and how some people are even considering making the vaccine mandatory by law.

On one hand, making the vaccine mandatory would make sure that every girl is protected against HPV and cervical cancer (as well as all the other cancers and health problems HPV can cause). On the other hand, wouldn't this mean government interference on women's health choices? Sure all women should get the vaccine, but no one should be forced to. What about the women who are morally opposed to getting the shot? I'm not talking about parents morally opposed to letting their children get it, I'm talking about people who don't want it for themselves due to their own moral/religious principles.

I dunno, it's just something that sort of came up and I figured it was relevant to the guild.

mandatory vaccines would take away choice.
it should be YOUR choice about what happens to your body-or what you put in it.

In the US they couldn't offer it without consent until the "child" was 18. If a parent says no and you're under age, it's pretty much too bad for you. I agree it should be the person's choice if they get a shot, but it's left up to the parents from birth. One would hope that a child's parents would have the child's best interest in mind, however it's not always the case.

While the vaccine is a wonderful breakthrough in medicine, and I personally think that every girl who is eligible for it should get it, I highly disagree with the thought of making it mandatory. The government should have no say in making any kind of medical decisions for the general population. It doesn't matter if that decision would save their life or not. We aren't being true to what pro-choice is fundamentally about if we say that anyone should have to recieve medical treatment that they would not have otherwise elected to recieve. You can't say that "It's a woman's choice" in one situation, but then turn around and say "This should be required by law" in a different situation. It's hypocritical. I don't care if the medicine/surgery/vaccine will save my life. Whether I choose to have it or not have it is no business of the government. Ever. Under any circumstances.

The only exeption to this is with a child (for the purposes of this, let's define "child" as someone under the age of fifteen). Legally, they are not able to make their own decisions. In that case, it's their parent's decision. But in all other cases, BD always wins.