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Christianity Today, March (Web-only), 2007 |

Speaking Out

'Tell Someone'? We Tried

Yes, HPV causes cervical cancer. Why did people scoff eight years ago, when we wanted to warn them?

Gina R. Dalfonzo | posted 3/22/2007 09:01AM

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States Consider Requiring HPV Vaccine for Girls | Texas has become the first state to require girls to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus. (NPR's All Things Considered)

Pro-Family, Pro-Vaccine -- But Keep It Voluntary | As expected, the advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended that adolescent girls and young women receive Gardasil. (The Washington Post)

The Ethics and Politics of Compulsory HPV Vaccination (The New England Journal of Medicine)

Vaccine for Girls Raises Thorny Issues | Parents Weigh Anti-Cancer Benefits Against Concerns About Cost and Lost Innocence. (The Washington Post)

Defusing the War Over the "Promiscuity" Vaccine | In a recent battle in the culture wars, conservative groups were reported to be opposing a great medical breakthrough on the grounds that it might encourage kids to think that casual sex just got a little bit safer.

Other Christianity Today articles on sexuality are available on our site.

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March (Web-only) 2007, Vol. 51

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J.S.	Posted: March 27, 2007 1:18 PM

The bottom-line for me is that this is a vaccine against cancer. If you could give your daughter a vaccine against the disease, wouldn't you? Why does it matter where the cancer is or that it can be caused by sexual activity? I am using this vaccine in my own life to prevent the disease. I was a virgin until I recently married. My husband & I are both on staff at a Bible-believing & teaching church. When he was a teenager & not following Christ, many years before we met, he chose to become sexually involved with his girlfriend. One other partner, that's all. But that's all it takes. I have no doubt that my husband is who God intended for me to marry & spend the rest of my life with. I had no part in pre-marital sex, but I will forever be aware of what his choices as a teenager could mean for the health of both our bodies. Surely, I am not & will not be the only fully-devoted follower of Christ that chose to remain pure until marriage yet has a spouse with a different past.

Bob R.

Posted: March 27, 2007 7:58 AM

Right on Mike Airhart! So much of the time the message is ignored because of the manner in which it is given or because people see the cultural warfare taking place beneath the surface of the message. The motivation of the drug companies for their fear-promoting messages is not all that pure either. However, when the boogie-man is a self-righteous, judgmental person or organization, anxiety about one's health is the last thing that is likely to be stirred in the ears of the hearer. The other embedded message is just too loud. It is really too bad that the big drug companies are more believable than the individuals and organizations who are pushing their not-so-hidden moral agenda.

Marie C.

Posted: March 23, 2007 9:40 AM

Abstinence is the best protection, bar none. It is too bad that the most vocal proponents for abstinence have so little time for actual education. In the US, cervical cancer is NOT even close to the second cause of cancer death among women- think lung, breast and colon, etc. You might not have said it, but you cited it. And why does your desire for knowledge to young people only extend to your moral convictions? Surely ALL knowledge should be distributed- abstinence is best, but condoms are better than nothing if you make the decision to have sex. Definitely whiny- poor baby, no one listened, what a load of garbage. So, you cannot get your message out unless someone prints it on a condom wrapper? How limited are your creative powers? Give me a break. You do NOTHING to appeal to people actually struggling with these ideas, all you do is preach to the choir. How difficult is that?

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