Decisions, decisions

Perry or not Perry? That is the question. At this point I honestly don’t know if I would vote for him in a presidential election. Given the option of Perry vs. Obama? Hands down Perry (most of my views are republican based). But Perry vs. another republican in the primary? That decision needs more thought and research on my part. Perry definitely has his pros and cons. But, being a potential presidential candidate, every decision, viewpoint, and comment seems to come back into play with an even more critical eye.

Here’s a little blast from the past, with a decision that struck a sour note in me. In 2007, Perry delivered an executive order requiring all sixth-grade girls to receive the Gardasil series of three vaccinations. These were thought to prevent most strains of HPV, which is the primary cause of cervical cancer. I understand that Perry was trying to protect young women against STDs and cervical cancer, but there are others ways to do so. Force-feeding these expensive vaccinations is not the way to do it. It is not an appropriate place for the government to step in. This is a parent’s decision for their child. Unlike other vaccinations that are required for school like mumps and measles that are airborne and easily spreadable, HPV is a completely different disease. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease and is 100% preventable if you are not having sex. Gardasil is still very new (even newer when this order was made in 2007!) and the health implications are not entirely known. There is no conclusive evidence that it is completely safe and it is not yet known what the effects are on the next generation of the vaccinated. Gardasil would also give young girls a false sense of security and ultimately give them more excuses to have sex at a young age, thinking, “well if I’m already protected then why not?” Just imagining this gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Perry was very upset with the legislature when they overturned his decision, saying that they must not care about the health of young women. That’s not true. You just can’t force something like this on people. I think a better approach would be to promote abstinence programs. It’s the only way of preventing STDs including HPV. If you kill the roots, you kill the plant. Advocating abstinence would help lead to healthier teens and young women, giving them an understanding what HPV is, rather than giving them a shot that they probably don’t even know what it’s for.

Now this doesn’t make or break Perry for me, and isn’t enough to make me not want to vote for him. It just raises questions for me and intrigues me to do more research. If he is a presidential candidate, one thing remains the same – he is from Texas and that sense of familiarity about his past and present issues (positive and negative) is important to me.