The Ethics and Politics of Compulsory HPV Vaccination

Abstract

The article focuses on the debate surrounding the potential implementation of required vaccinations against the human papillomavirus for sixth-grade girls. The state of Michigan has developed a bill to make the administration of Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, compulsory. Details related to the incidence of cervical cancer resulting from HPV in the United States are included. Oppositional groups contest that delivering a vaccine against a sexually transmitted virus could negatively effect lessons about abstinence. Proponents suggest that since the virus effects significantly more women than men, vaccination among all girls is an urgent issue.; The article focuses on the debate surrounding the potential implementation of required vaccinations against the human papillomavirus for sixth-grade girls. The state of Michigan has developed a bill to make the administration of Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, compulsory. Details related to the incidence of cervical cancer resulting from HPV in the United States are included. Oppositional groups contest that delivering a vaccine against a sexually transmitted virus could negatively effect lessons about abstinence. Proponents suggest that since the virus effects significantly more women than men, vaccination among all girls is an urgent issue.