Cancer vaccine for Ontario girls
by Rob - August 8th, 2007.Filed under: Uncategorized.
I’ve often been known to criticize government officials here in Canada, but not today. Today, I’m standing up and cheering. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has announced a $39-million plan to give free voluntary vaccinations to girls in grade 8 in Ontario against the most deadly forms of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer.
In other places, moral zealots have prevented making this life-saving vaccine available to teenagers, because HPV is transmitted sexually, and they think that putting girls at risk of a horrible death by cancer is either a suitable deterrent or a suitable punishment for premarital sex. I’m glad I live in an enlightened place, and today, even though I happen to temporarily be away from home, I’m proud to be an Ontarian. My tax dollars at work — and I’m genuinely thrilled.
The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site