Indiana Senate pushing for HPV bill

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Senate leaders are pushing for a bill they hope will encourage sixth-grade girls to become vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer -- legislation they say is a good balance between parental rights and protecting women's health.\nThe bill as drafted would give parents information about the link between human papilloma virus, or HPV, and cervical cancer, and would state that an HPV vaccine is available.\nThe original version of the legislation would have required most girls be vaccinated, although it included no penalties if they did not get the series of three shots. A Senate committee watered down that bill to help address concerns from some parents, who said such a requirement would interfere with the way they raise their children.\nBetween 2000 and 2003, 1,093 Indiana women were diagnosed with cervical cancer, with 347 dying of the disease, said Sen. Connie Lawson, a Republican from Danville who is sponsoring the Senate bill.\n"We're losing too many mothers and daughters and sisters and friends to cervical cancer," Lawson said Thursday. "Why would we risk anyone's health or life when we have the capability to help prevent our future generations from getting this possibly fatal cancer?"\nGardasil, made by Merck & Co. and approved by the federal government in June, protects girls and women against strains of HPV that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. A government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at ages 11 or 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.\nAt least 18 states are debating whether to require the vaccine. Republican Gov. Rick Perry recently used an executive order that bypassed the legislature to make Texas the first state to mandate the vaccine for schoolgirls. Some Texas lawmakers want to try to override the order.\nIndiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said Thursday that he would not issue such an executive order. He questioned whether he has that power as governor, and said the issue should be left up to the General Assembly.\nSenate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said the Senate bill puts the conversation about the vaccine where it belongs: between parents, their children and their family doctors.\n"You've got a bill in place right now that protects parental rights while still providing information about the vaccine," he said.