Friday, May 06, 2005
Christian Right Wants To Keep Women At Risk For Cervical Cancer
The Rubes at the Family Research Council (FRC) want to keep women at risk for cervical cancer. Why? Well if we innoculate women when they are younger, it might lead to premarital sex. If this weren't so sad, I would be embarassed. According to a article on Salon, the Center For Disease Control (CDC) has stated that "over 50 percent of sexually active men and women contract HPV, human papillomavirus, in their lifetimes, and by the age of 50, more than 80 percent of women will have had the virus." HPV is a wiley little virus that cannot be stopped by the mere use of condoms and can go undetected for years. Men see no symptoms and women can then contract the disease which can then lead to cervical cancer. Detected early in women it is treatable.
FRC motormouth, Bridget Maher, is quoted in a April 18th article of New Scientist: "In the US, for instance, religious groups are gearing up to oppose vaccination, despite a survey showing 80 per cent of parents favour vaccinating their daughters. "Abstinence is the best way to prevent HPV," says Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council, a leading Christian lobby group that has made much of the fact that, because it can spread by skin contact, condoms are not as effective against HPV as they are against other viruses such as HIV.
"Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a licence to engage in premarital sex," Maher claims, though it is arguable how many young women have even heard of the virus."
Why do we let these uneducated dopes speak for science? The Christian Right is putting us all in danger by their anti-Science stance, which conveniently dovetails with big businesses outrageous assault on consumer protections. Let Jesus take care of it all is a dangerous statement to those who might not know better. In the Bible there were doctors. Hmmm, Saint Luke the Physician? Ring a bell. Science is not against church teachings, unless you are a Christian Scientist of course, or maybe a Jehovah's Witness, or a Scientologist. When will we just shut these folks out of the public discourse on critical health matters? I am all for free speech, but back it up with hard data, not your mealy mouthed talk of faith curing all. God expects us to help ourselves when we can. Faith is for the hard matters, not whether you should stop the bleeding, or whether you should buy Campbell's Chicken Noodle of Knorr. I am embarassed by this ignorant intrusion into our healthcare debate by these terribly silly fools. Stop it now, you are hurting us.
FRC motormouth, Bridget Maher, is quoted in a April 18th article of New Scientist: "In the US, for instance, religious groups are gearing up to oppose vaccination, despite a survey showing 80 per cent of parents favour vaccinating their daughters. "Abstinence is the best way to prevent HPV," says Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council, a leading Christian lobby group that has made much of the fact that, because it can spread by skin contact, condoms are not as effective against HPV as they are against other viruses such as HIV.
"Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a licence to engage in premarital sex," Maher claims, though it is arguable how many young women have even heard of the virus."
Why do we let these uneducated dopes speak for science? The Christian Right is putting us all in danger by their anti-Science stance, which conveniently dovetails with big businesses outrageous assault on consumer protections. Let Jesus take care of it all is a dangerous statement to those who might not know better. In the Bible there were doctors. Hmmm, Saint Luke the Physician? Ring a bell. Science is not against church teachings, unless you are a Christian Scientist of course, or maybe a Jehovah's Witness, or a Scientologist. When will we just shut these folks out of the public discourse on critical health matters? I am all for free speech, but back it up with hard data, not your mealy mouthed talk of faith curing all. God expects us to help ourselves when we can. Faith is for the hard matters, not whether you should stop the bleeding, or whether you should buy Campbell's Chicken Noodle of Knorr. I am embarassed by this ignorant intrusion into our healthcare debate by these terribly silly fools. Stop it now, you are hurting us.
