Contacting Key Stakeholders and Updates

We have contacted delegate Dickie Bell of the city Staunton, Virginia, delegate Steve Landes of Waynesboro, Virginia, and delegate Tony Wilt of Harrisonburg, Virginia, the Central Shenandoah Health District, and Crista Sullivan, the Program Director of Virginia Vaccines for Children Program (VVFC). We have reached out to these key stakeholders regarding our opinion of this bill because they are who has a direct tie to the surrounding communities of James Madison University. Due to the fact that these individuals represent our area of locality, our group figured it would be the best rationale to refer local congressional leaders to our blog. It is our hope this will lead to action and direct representation of constituent opinion about HPV vaccination requirements.

While there are no new updates in the bill, a recent development in healthcare law has had a dramatic affect on the response to mandated HPV vaccination. Abrahams’s Law, a law passed in Virginia in February 2010, allows parents to refuse certain medical treatments for their children without fear of accusations of neglect or any other reprisal. The conditions are that the decision must be made jointly with the child, the child must be mature enough to make such a decision, other treatment options must be considered, and parents must believe the decision is in the best interests of the child. Although this law intends to protect the family’s right to their own decisions in healthcare, some parents say they should not have to go through any red tape just because they do not want their children to receive the vaccine and that mandatory vaccination circumvents parents' rights to make medical decisions for their children. However, our group still thinks that the benefits of the giving the vaccine, such as the resulting lower prevalence of HPV and cervical cancer, outweigh the objections by some parents. In fact, the Abraham Law may actually help those parents who still feel uncomfortable about having their adolescent daughters receive the mandatory vaccine, after being fully educated on the subject, feel comfort in that if they truly object that they are not being punished or belittled for their objections or forced into something that they do not believe in.