A state Senate panel took the first step toward adding a new cervical-cancer vaccine to the list of required inoculations for schoolgirls Tuesday, overriding concerns about the safety, morality and intent of such a policy.
After more than two hours of testimony, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee endorsed a bill to require that all 12-year-old girls receive the new vaccine for the human papilloma virus, which is passed through sexual contact. As with all vaccinations in Colorado, parents could opt out.
“I don’t see this as a mandate but as an opportunity for education,” Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, said before the committee sent the bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee on a 5-4 party-line vote.
Doctors and cancer survivors testified in support of the bill, saying the new vaccine is a valuable tool in the fight against a virus that medical officials estimate causes 70 percent of all cervical-cancer cases.
“This is an illness that is preventable,” said Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, who sponsored the bill with House Republican leader Mike May of Parker.
But opponents said it crosses a new line of government mandates and could encourage sexual promiscuity in teenagers.
“This will create the perception of immunity, and sex outside of marriage will actually increase,” said Ed Hanks of Colorado Right to Life.
“Kids already think they are invincible. This will reinforce that belief.”
Geoffrey Phelps, a teenager from Colorado Springs, urged the panel to push abstinence programs in school. He said he has taken a vow of abstinence and, “My wife will not have to worry about receiving an STD from me.”
Opponents also questioned the motives of the vaccine’s maker, Merck, which since winning FDA approval for the vaccine in June has been working with legislative groups pushing laws to promote the vaccine.
“I have grave concerns about any pharmaceutical company immediately pursuing a government mandate that people receive their product,” said Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield.
A Merck representative at the Capitol referred questions to the company’s headquarters in Philadelphia. The public- affairs department did not return phone calls Wednesday afternoon.
Jim Martin, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the department’s medical officer, Dr. Ned Calonge, and other doctors testified that the vaccine is safe. And its use has been endorsed by groups including the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American Cancer Society, the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and the American Academy of Pediatricians.
Still, some witnesses pointed out that long-term impacts might not be known, noting that Merck has been sued for allegedly withholding information about the dangers of the painkiller Vioxx.
“Basically this is a transparent attempt by Merck to pad their coffers … at the expense of young girls,” said Mary Hendrick, a Denver mother who said she opposes all vaccines.
Mitchell and committee chairman Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Aurora, sparred early in the meeting, as Mitchell tried to question Martin and Calonge about whether they were moving vaccination policy from one that protects children from communicable diseases into areas of adult choices.
“This is the Health and Human Services Committee, not the health and morality committee,” Hagedorn said.
Capitol Bureau Chief Jeri Clausing can be reached at 303-954-1555 or jclausing@denverpost.com.
