14 DAY TRIAL // Based on highly-questionable religious grounds, some schools in the United Kingdom are denying their female students access to a cervical cancer vaccine that could one day save their lives. The situation echoes a similar stance taken by some indoctrinated schools and parents in the United States.
The vaccine in question protects against strains 16 and 18 of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which between themselves are responsible for more than 70 percent of cervical cancer cases worldwide.
The shot is usually given to young girls aged 12 to 13, but several UK schools have opted out of the vaccination program, motivating their decision through the fact that they were founded on Christian principles, and that their pupils do not engage in sexual intercourse outside the boundaries of marriage.
But critics are quick to point out that one's religious beliefs should not endanger the lives of children at any point. HPV does not take into account a marriage certificate, and can infect an adult woman just the same. Her spouse may be carrying the virus without even knowing it.
England, for example, is divided in 152 primary care trust (PCT) areas. Of 83 schools in these areas, 24 opted out of the vaccination program, according to an investigation conducted by GP magazine, The Guardian newspaper reports.
Most of the schools that chose to do so also did not inform general practitioners in the area about their decision, therefore depriving the girls of the chance to get their shots elsewhere.
The sad part is that religious fanatics, some parents and school boards included, associate the HPV vaccine with promiscuous behavior, a green card to engage in socially-unacceptable behaviors for these girls. While the “adults” think they are protecting the girls' virtue, they are in fact putting them at great risk.
Some of the reasons given by schools include “not in keeping with the school ethos,” “pupils follow strict Christian principles, marry within their own community and do not practice sex outside marriage” and “the school does not want parents/students to feel pressured by peers or the school setting.”
“None of our immunizations are compulsory. We therefore must accept that some children or adults will not be vaccinated. It is hard to understand how immunization against cancer can be rejected but that is how it is out there in the community,” RCGP immunization lead Dr George Kassianos said.