Dear Concerned Parents:
In June of 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approved Gardasil, a vaccine for females that is designed to
prevent four strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). A law
passed by our state legislature the following year –
requiring the Virginia Department of Health to provide
parents of rising sixth grade girls with information on HPV
and the HPV vaccine – has recently taken effect. According to
this new law, schools (including nonpublic schools) are
responsible for providing this information to those parents
before the end of the current school year.
As you receive the state-required information, we wish to
offer some information and observations for your
consideration.
Considerations Regarding Catholic Teaching
The Catholic Church teaches generally that immunizing against
disease is an important and morally responsible action. There
is nothing intrinsically immoral associated with providing or
receiving the HPV vaccine. It is necessary to acknowledge the
prevalence of HPV, the many deaths and other health problems
it has caused, and the appropriateness of combating it. The
four types of HPV that the vaccine is designed to prevent
cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of
genital warts.
At the same time, the Church also teaches that parents are
the primary educators and caregivers of their children. Their
discretion in deciding what health care measures are
necessary and appropriate for their children must be fully
respected by the state.
We believe that governments must be especially mindful of the
difficult situation parents face when considering an
immunization for a sexually transmitted disease for their
young daughters. With many popular forces in today’s society
encouraging irresponsible and immoral behavior, parents are
rightly concerned that their daughters not receive a mixed
message about the importance of chastity. However, we also
recognize that the prevalence of HPV makes exposure to the
virus possible even in a marriage, due to the possibility of
a spouse’s exposure as a result of sexual activity prior to
marriage. Sadly, we also live in a society where
non-consensual sex remains a threat to young women and
therefore a source of potential exposure to HPV.
Legislative Debate
Since the FDA’s approval of Gardasil, there has been much
public debate regarding the government’s role in promoting or
even mandating the vaccine for school-aged girls. In
Virginia, debate about this new vaccine led to the General
Assembly’s enactment of legislation requiring the parents of
girls about to enter the sixth grade to receive information
from the state describing the link between HPV and cervical
cancer and the availability of the new HPV vaccine.
During the course of this debate, the Virginia Catholic
Conference (www.vacatholic.org), which is the public-policy
agency of our two dioceses, emphasized two main points on our
behalf:
1) The primary responsibility for this medical decision must
reside with parents. Parental discretion is critical and must
not be subordinated to the state.
2) Rather than enacting legislation prematurely, the more
prudent path would have been to allow more time to gather
information about this very new vaccine and assess any risks
that may be associated with it. The long-term safety and
effectiveness of the vaccine are unknown.
The Law and the Choice for Parents
The bill that was enacted is consistent with the first point:
It contains no vaccination requirement. Parents will receive
the information and have complete discretion to decide for
themselves what is in the best interests of their daughters.
In our view, however, the second point merits heightened
attention as well. Given that the long-term effects of the
vaccine are unknown, parents may wish to explore the
significance of this issue further, through consultation with
a family physician and through additional research.
Also, because HPV is spread through sexual contact, parents
who choose the vaccine for their daughters may find it
appropriate to communicate their desire both to prevent HPV
infection and to warn against the behavior by which HPV is
spread.
Ultimately, because each child is unique, each parent is in
the best position to determine the right approach, in terms
of the medical decision and the most effective way of
discussing it with his or her daughter. We encourage you,
therefore, to review the state-compiled information
thoroughly and to seek additional information. Two resources
that we recommend are:
1) The Catholic Medical Association’s Position Paper on HPV
Immunization
(http://www.cathmed.org/publications/cma_statement_hpv_vaccine_jan07.pdf)
2) The Statement of the National Catholic Bioethics Center on
Vaccination against HPV
(http://www.ncbcenter.org/06-07-11-hpv_vaccine.asp).
In addition to these two recommended resources, there are
many other written sources on which we offer no opinion but
which nevertheless may have information worth considering.
Three such sources are:
1) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration website’s section on
vaccines
(http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccines.htm)
2) The HPV Vaccine Information Statement produced by the U.S.
government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-hpv.pdf)
3) A link about the vaccine on the manufacturer’s website
(http://www.merck.com/newsroom/press_releases/product/2008_0708.html).
Thank you for permitting us the opportunity to share these
thoughts, which we hope will be of value as you make this
important parental decision.
Faithfully Yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde
Bishop of Arlington
Most Reverend Francis X. DiLorenzo
Bishop of Richmond
