# Calgary Catholic School Board refuses to offer HPV Vaccine to students **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 27, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421 "2008-09-27T00:44:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421/101 "2008-10-01T19:21:56Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Jeez. you’d think the church would want to vaccinnate the girls just to protect their own pedophile nuns and priests! Boys can’t get cervical cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421/102 "2008-10-01T19:43:19Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Boys can’t get cervical cancer. What about the virus? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421/103 "2008-10-01T20:35:54Z")
They’re actually considering making this vaccination available for boys too - the research isn’t finished on that application yet, though. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421/104 "2008-10-02T04:54:55Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > As one of the comments in that linked article alluded to, the protection of female health should not be a moral issue. Of course it should be a moral issue, and morality mandates protection of female health. ---
**Author:** ![spoike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@spoike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spoike)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421/105 "2008-10-13T15:26:12Z")
I know this is a little late, but more Catholic school boards have fallen in line with Bishop Henry. According to [this article](http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2008/10/13/7066681-sun.html), St. Thomas Aquinas (south of Edmonton), Christ the Redeemer (south of Calgary), Lakeland, Red Deer, and Lethbridge have decided to disallow distribution of the vaccine in their schools. My favourite part is this little quote: ‘"The Bishop said it would be unacceptable for Catholic schools to be offering this vaccine, that it would tacitly condone premarital sexual activity,’ said Paszek." Right. I know that, personally, when I got my last tetanus vaccine, I immediately went out and ran barefoot through a pretty little pile of rusty nails and tin cans. That’s what everybody does once they’re protected. Nitwits. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421/106 "2008-10-13T16:06:02Z")
> [@spoike](#): > > Right. I know that, personally, when I got my last tetanus vaccine, I immediately went out and ran barefoot through a pretty little pile of rusty nails and tin cans. That’s what everybody does once they’re protected. > > Nitwits. I’m firmly in the pro-vaccination camp, but this isn’t a valid analogy, is it? Most adolescents _do_ want to have sex. I know that I had sex as soon as the opportunity came up. Having been adequately educated, I did take precautions, but the point is that I wanted to do it and that I knew that doing it would give me pleasure. So it’s not exactly like running barefoot on rusty nails, is it? ---
**Author:** ![spoike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@spoike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spoike)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421/107 "2008-10-13T16:29:01Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I’m firmly in the pro-vaccination camp, but this isn’t a valid analogy, is it? > > Most adolescents _do_ want to have sex. I know that I had sex as soon as the opportunity came up. Having been adequately educated, I did take precautions, but the point is that I wanted to do it and that I knew that doing it would give me pleasure. So it’s not exactly like running barefoot on rusty nails, is it? Damn it. You’re right. Although, I will say, that even though I have had my tetanus boosters, I make a conscious decision to wear pierce-resistant gardening gloves when working with roses, because I’m aware that they can harbour tetanus. Granted, I’d still be wearing gloves, because roses are thorny, but I still am extra careful because of the possibility of infection. So, I do want to work with roses, but I don’t think my vaccines have given me ‘tacit’ permission to do so without being sensible. Regardless, I do agree, my analogy is laboured, at best. The rose explanation isn’t much better, either, which makes me think I should probably lay off the analogies, in general. Basically, what I really am trying to say is that I doubt many people in the past factored the threat of HPV into their decisions to have (or not to have) sex. STDS, in general, sure, but not just HPV. I doubt being vaccinated against HPV now will influence many either. There are still the threats of unwanted pregnancy, HIV, Chlamydia, and other STDs, and I suspect those are still going to be huge factors in the decision, or at, least, they should be. But, yeah, the tetanus/rusty nails thing is pushing it. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421/108 "2008-10-14T00:07:17Z")
[QUOTE=NinjaChick] I’m not anti-vaccine. My concern is that as far as I understand it there hasn’t been terribly much independently-funded research done about the potential side effects, be they immediate or long-term, of this vaccine. [/quote] I agree with this. Merck has a cash cow here the like of which is seldom seen - about the only bigger cash cow is Viagra. A whole generation of girls is being vaccinated in a big rush. And if there are harmful effects? As for the school doing vaccinations: all my vaccinations were at school, in the 1950’s and 1960’s, my kids in the 1970’s, and my grandchildren now. Last week my boy in Grade 6 got his shots and so did the one in Grade 9. This is in BC. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421/109 "2008-10-14T19:40:51Z")
> [@spoike](#): > > I know this is a little late, but more Catholic school boards have fallen in line with Bishop Henry. According to [this article](http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2008/10/13/7066681-sun.html), St. Thomas Aquinas (south of Edmonton), Christ the Redeemer (south of Calgary), Lakeland, Red Deer, and Lethbridge have decided to disallow distribution of the vaccine in their schools. > > My favourite part is this little quote: ‘"The Bishop said it would be unacceptable for Catholic schools to be offering this vaccine, that it would tacitly condone premarital sexual activity,’ said Paszek." Right. I know that, personally, when I got my last tetanus vaccine, I immediately went out and ran barefoot through a pretty little pile of rusty nails and tin cans. That’s what everybody does once they’re protected. > > Nitwits. I would like to thank you for the update, except it’s making me sad. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421/110 "2008-10-16T00:00:47Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Religion should play no role in medical decisions. > > As an atheist I’m told I have no soul (I do, but as Dr. Dennett says, it’s made of thousands of tiny robots), so consider harm wished. As a Catholic, I would like to say that I AGREE. It was a stupid decision. It is a medical matter. It could prevent future cancer. That is all that should have factored into any decision. “Life is a gift from God, to be protected and enjoyed.” **Well then don’t get in the fucking way you self righteous dummies.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calgary-catholic-school-board-refuses-to-offer-hpv-vaccine-to-students/465421.md?page=5)