World Breastfeeding Week

August 1-7 is World Breastfeeding Week, as proclaimed by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, which works to "to protect, promote and support breastfeeding." The event is intended to celebrate the Innocenti Declaration, which recognizes the benefits of breastfeeding and focuses on promotion strategies. This year's event in particular is themed "Code Watch: 25 Years of Protecting Breastfeeding," a reference to the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (links to PDF).

Resources:

World Breastfeeding Week Celebrations - La Leche League in the USA
World Breastfeeding Week - International Lactation Consultant Association

World Breastfeeding Week - from WIC; their theme this year is "Breastfeeding, Anytime, Anywhere." Includes available toolkit materials.

World Breastfeeding Week - Child Rights Information Network - links to additional resources

World Breastfeeding Week - Pan American Health Organization

Breastfeeding Spotlight - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Breastfeeding Home - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Breastfeeding. Best for Baby, Best for Mom. - 4women.gov

Promoting Proper Feeding for Infants and Young Children - World Health Organization

The World Health Organization's Infant Feeding Recommendation - reads in part, "infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health" and "Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond."

Technorati Tags: breastfeeding; World Breastfeeding Week
MeSH Tags: Breast Feeding

Emergency Contraception News

In somewhat surprising news, the FDA announced today that it may be moving forward on over-the-counter access to emergency contraceptives. According to the agency's press release, "In the letter to Duramed [maker of the Plan B emergency contraceptive], the Agency communicated its plan to proceed working with the Sponsor in order to move Plan B from prescription only to over-the-counter status for woman ages 18 and older. The steps FDA has taken with respect to this application and the letter it issued to the Sponsor of Plan B today underscores FDA's commitment to public health and safety."

This action comes after the FDA issued a comment period to address questions such as whether separate status for minors and those over 18 was enforceable, and whether a drug marketed for both prescription and OTC use could be sold in the same packaging. The FDA's summary of the comments received is available as a PDF.

FDA Press Release

Related FDA Materials on Plan B

Coverage:

FDA Plans to Consider Morning-After Pill - New York Times

FDA Weights Over-the-Counter Plan B Sales - Washington Post

von Eschenbach Continues to Politicize Women's Lives - Thoughts of an Average Woman

Locally, Vanderbilt is developing what they call a more "unified emergency contraceptive plan." The piece outlines some of the problems patients face in accessing and obtaining emergency contraceptives, and how the Medical Center plans to address this issue. Also according to the story, Chancellor Gee's daughter was involved in the lawsuit against Massachusetts Wal-Mart pharmacies where prescriptions for the drug were refused.

Technorati Tags: emergency contraception; FDA; Plan B; Reproductive Rights
MeSH Tags: Contraception, Postcoital; Levonorgestrel

BabyTalk Magazine Cover Controversy

Okay, this settles it - women really are each other's own worst enemies. It seems that BabyTalk magazine featured, on its August cover, a photo of a breastfeeding infant. All you can see is the smiling baby's face and the sideview of a boob. It's tissue, people, and less titillating (pardon the pun) than the amount of t&a you see on your average beach. For now, you can see the "offending" cover on the magazine's homepage. Go look. Then come back.

Done? Wondering what the big deal is? According to this article, "the magazine has received more than 700 letters — more than for any article in years." Also, "in a poll of more than 4,000 readers, a quarter of responses to the cover were negative, calling the photo — a baby and part of a woman's breast, in profile — inappropriate."

Among the gems of comments the magazine received, according to the piece (keep in mind this was a special issue on breastfeeding, in a magazine for new mothers):

"I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine"

"I immediately turned the magazine face down"

"Gross"

"'I shredded it,' said Gayle Ash, of Belton, Texas, in a telephone interview. 'A breast is a breast — it's a sexual thing. He [her 13-year old son] didn't need to see that.'"

"I don't want my son or husband to accidentally see a breast they didn't want to see."

"'Men are very visual. When they see a woman's breast, they see a breast — regardless of what it's being used for."

"'Gross, I am sick of seeing a baby attached to a boob,' wrote Lauren, a mother of a 4-month-old."

Lessons learned:

Don't you dare be gross!

Men's reactions and desires are the arbiters of what women should do, even if it concerns feeding a baby.

13-year-old boys and grown men cannot possibly be expected to control themselves.

Men should only see boobs they want to see!

Mothers cannot possibly be expected to explain that boobs are not just for fondling.

If you have to choose between giving your baby the best possible nutrition, and writing angry letters to a magazine, you should totally go with the letters. For serious.

From the magazine's editor:
"Babytalk editor Susan Kane says the mixed response to the cover clearly echoes the larger debate over breast-feeding in public. 'There's a huge Puritanical streak in Americans,' she says, 'and there's a squeamishness about seeing a body part — even part of a body part. It's not like women are whipping them out with tassels on them!' she adds. 'Mostly, they are trying to be discreet.'"

Puritanical women of America, you have to get a grip. Now. Breasts are for feeding babies. Even yours.

If you support BabyTalk's cover choice, you may email them at letters@babytalk.com.

Updates:

Commenter Rob has a good take on the controversy as well.

The MSNBC website also has the story. They have an associated discussion board, "Breast-feeding in public - human nature or indecent exposure?" Unfortunately, I can't access it at the moment because it doesn't work in Safari, and I don't feel like updating Explorer.

Lindsey at Theology&Geometry is also on the case. Says Lindsey, "Because, um, you should really get a frigging life if your time spent on Batsh*t Boob Patrol means that some exhausted nursing mother, carrying around a diaper bag and stroller and a fragile little mound of soul and some pretty heavy emotional weight, has to shuffle her way into a damp stinky restroom to feed her baby just so you don't have to think about your dirty boys having naughty thoughts about boobies that aren't yours." Woman doesn't mince words; go read the rest.

The Lactivist manages to respond without using the word "titillating," which neither Lindsey nor I could resist.

The Spakespeare's Sister blog got a good discussion going in the comments.

Technorati Tags: Babytalk; breastfeeding
MeSH Tags: Breast Feeding

Announcement: The Farm Midwifery Quilt

The Farm in Summertown, TN is soliciting quilt pieces on every child born with assistance from a Farm midwife. From an email:

Hi From The Farm in Summertown , Tennessee,
This is Vickie at The Farm Welcome Center,

The Farm Midwives are doing a quilt project and need your help in finding anyone who had their baby or babies delivered by a Farm Midwife. Over the last 35 years they have delivered over 2,500 babies! Some of you might know of someone, and some might not. What ever help you can give will be appreciated. The following letter is from Ina May Gaskin.

Sincerely, Vickie
The Farm Welcome Center
www.thefarmcommunity.com
*****
From: "Ina May Gaskin"
(inamaygaskin@gmail.com)
Subject: new quilt

We just said good by to a group of British midwives. While they were here, they saw the Safe Motherhood Quilt (all 4 panels). One of them had a great idea that we need a happy quilt to balance this necessary (but sad) one.

So here's their idea: we make a quilt that will have the birth of every child born into the hands of a Farm midwife, starting from Immanuel Skinner's birth (the first Caravan baby). Farm members hopefully will make the pieces for their own kids, decorating the pieces in whatever way they choose. Permanent fabric markers or embroidery is fine - we are really open to how moms want to make the pieces for their kids.

Here are the specifications:
Each quilt piece contains the name and birth date of the child, weight, and if not born on the TN Farm, the birthplace. And any other words desired. Any design or decoration desired.
The design part of each square should measure 5 1/2 inches but there is a 1/2" margin all around that is free of design. That means that each piece is cut to be 6 1/2 inches square. (I'll assemble the pieces in chronological order).

If anyone on the list is happy with a British midwife or her sister or grandmother making a piece for their kid or kids, that news should come to me so I can assign the sewing/embroidery, etc., to one of them. I'm asking them to make pieces for those I don't remember anyone mentioning for a long time.

Send all quilt pieces to:
Ina May Gaskin
41 The Farm
Summertown, TN 38483

And anyone can respond me by email.

Much love,
Ina May

The Farm Midwifery Center
The Farm Midwifery Workshops


Off topic: big congrats to my cousin and his wife, who just had their second baby at a birthing center. Looks just like his papa and grandpapa!

Technorati Tags: childbirth; The Farm; Ina May Gaskin; midwifery
MeSH Tags: Midwifery

Debate

The Child Custody Protection Act (S.403) mentioned in a previous post passed the Senate on Tuesday, such that "whoever knowingly transports a minor across a State line, with the intent that such minor obtain an abortion, and thereby in fact abridges the right of a parent under a law requiring parental involvement in a minor's abortion decision, in force in the State where the minor resides, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both." Votes on the measure by Senator, home state, and position are available here.

Two amendments to the bill were considered. One amendment, intended to fund programs to reduce teen pregnancies, was rejected (48-51). A second amendment to punish parents who commit incest, was approved (98-0).

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I think it's a complicated issue, and can understand the various viewpoints. Here are a list of debate points I have seen and considered regarding the topic. Thanks to Aunt B, bridgett (see Aunt B's comments), Short & Fat, smantix, and others for their thoughtful consideration.

Usurping parents' rights to consent to health care is a crime
vs.

Requirements of parental consent views minors as parental property, analagous in history to the Fugitive Slave Act

Parental consent is required for other forms of legal medical care and less significant events such as field trips or receiving an aspirin at school.
vs.

Minors typically have special consent rights regarding reproductive health, allowing them to consent on their own to things such as prenatal care, STD testing and treatment, HIV testing, and contraceptive services.

It is appropriate to criminally punish those who circumvent parents' rights and state law in order to help a minor obtain and abortion, much as it is criminalized to assist in the commission of other crimes
vs.

It is hypocritical/inappropriate to be willing to punish the co-conspirators in the circumvention of state law while not punishing the minor seeking the abortion, similar to punishing the getaway driver but not the bank robber.

Parental involvement is a good thing. Girls should talk to their parents about decisions of abortion; this law affects very few girls who refuse to do so.
vs.

While perhaps few in number, this law affects girls in the very worst of home situations, with the least supportive of parents. As stated by the American Association of University Women, "The government cannot mandate healthy family communication where it does not already exist." Assumes parents have the best interests of their child in mind, which may or may not be true.

Girls in parental consent states have an option to go before a judge rather than their parents
vs.

Minor girls who we assume not capable of informed consent to abortion must then find the capacity to navigate the legal system, and receive judgement from an individual least familiar with their specific situations, rather than receiving the assistance of a trusted friend or relative

Allowing minors to receive abortions without parental involvement puts abortion providers in the position of potentially protecting rapists, particularly statutory rapists. This law at least puts parents in the position of being aware of the rape, and prevents older males from coercing young females into abortion.
vs.

I have no idea what the counterpoint to that is. One commenter on Alternet suggested that a teen being forced to give birth to an abuser's child would permanently tie her to the abuser (via the child), but I'm not sure that carries the same weight.

Technorati Tags: abortion; Child Custody Protection Act; Politics; reproductive rights
MeSH Tags: Abortion, Criminal; Abortion, Induced; Minors/legislation and jurisprudence; Parental Consent; Parental Notification; Personal Autonomy; Reproductive Rights

Sometimes the "Health" Part isn't the Problem

Via Kevin, MD and The Washington Times, "a medical secretary for New York Knicks surgeon Dr. W. Norman Scott alleges she was abruptly fired when she returned to work after breast cancer treatment." DeVito was allegedly asked by the office administrator, "Well, are they going to give you a wig for work?" She was fired after returning to work after chemotherapy, and has filed an EEOC complaint.

In the comments of Kevin's post, one individual responds with an anecdote of hearing a VP of her company respond to a manager's leukemia by stating, "it would be cheaper for us if she just f***ing died instead of sucking us for disability payments." Another commentor states that, after letting her workplace know she had to be off for an oncology appointment, "I was told by the office manager, with no one around, 'Great you're f'n dying, you should have told us sooner.'"

I'm not sure EEOC laws actually apply in cases of extended leave due to cancer, as it would likely not be a work-related illness or disabilty. Terrible as the stories may be, employers typically have the right to fire people for absences regardless of how valid the cause seems. It may be that the EEOC law is being invoked because if the employee was fired due to no longer having pretty hair (?!?!), that might be conceived as sex discrimination. However, the Family and Medical Leave Act does provide for up to 12 unpaid weeks of leave for reasons including "to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition." To be eligible, she would have had to have been employed for at least a year, there would have to be 50 or more employees at her worksite, and there has to be some paperwork/advance approval. The story does not address whether these requirements were met or applicable.


Technorati Tags: Discrimination; EEOC; FMLA
MeSH Tags: Employment; Sick Leave; FMLA (keyword)

Child Custody Protection Act

More on this later. Vote expected today.

The bill text
Excerpt:
(a) Offense-
(1) GENERALLY- Except as provided in subsection (b), whoever knowingly transports a minor across a State line, with the intent that such minor obtain an abortion, and thereby in fact abridges the right of a parent under a law requiring parental involvement in a minor's abortion decision, in force in the State where the minor resides, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Sponsors and whatnot

Also, Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, in the House.
Frist hopes to endanger teen girls - Tennessee Guerilla Women
Congress Debates Abortion Bill Affecting Minors - Morning Edition

Carnival of Things I Missed

I haven't blogged much lately for assorted reasons. Here are links to some things that have happened in the meantime. I haven't had time to read the studies, but wanted to point them out nonetheless. Use your own discretion.

Assorted news via 4women.gov:

"Nicotine patch use during pregnancy may put baby at risk"

"Gender gap in scientific research shows up in print"

"Ultrasound detects Rh complications in the womb"

"Obesity, diabetes drive high rate of kidney failure in the US"

"Clinical trials for cancer running out of volunteers"

"U.S. women uninformed about lung cancer"

"Sex in late pregnancy won't bring on labor"

"Many young rape victims fail to take HIV-preventing drugs"

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth:

"A qualitative study of an integrated maternity, drugs and social care service for drug-using women"

"Risk factors for pre-term birth in Iraq: a case-control study"

BMC Women's Health: "Quality of health information for cervical cancer treatment on the internet"

via Feministing:

"Prepare yourself" - Horrifying. Four young boys [ages 5, 6, 7, 10] accused of raping 2-year-old South Bend girl"

"Millions in federal funds go to crisis pregnancy centers"

"Stop punishing pregnant women"

"Rep. Waxman releases report on anti-choice clinics"

"Anti-choice dodo talks to Salon" (surely you heard about the guy who took an Onion article seriously?)

"Mammograms go digital"

"Don't forget to wax for your rapist"

"Mother of sexually assaulted soldier speaks out"

via Kaiser Network Daily Reports - Women's Health Policy

"Wall Street Journal examines resurgence of breast-feeding, use of negative campaigns"

"Kansas City Star examines pregnancy prevention program aimed at drug users"

"NPR's 'Talk of the Nation' examines debate over health care providers' 'right of conscience,' patients' rights to medical care"

"Federally funded pregnancy resource centers provide women with incorrect information on abortion, report says"

"Washington Post examines debate surrounding health care workers' religious freedom vs. patients' rights to abortion, fertility treatment, birth control, EC"

Other:

FDA: "FDA approves the first once-a-day three-drug combination tablet for treatment of HIV-1"

ABC News: "Is breast better?"

Medgadget: "Implanon under her skin"

Too Fat for Ponies has OB clinicals

New York Times: "Report finds a heavy toll from medication errors"

For medical librarians, check out David Rothman. I have a massive librarian crush on David (like a girl crush, but geekier), who actually gets the value of RSS feeds for clinicians and delivers useful commentary and information for librarians. If I were in charge of a library, I'd actively recruit David to be on my team. If you're not a librarian, check out his blog anyway for a peak behind the librarian curtain and a view of the kinds of services you should be getting.

Little Miss Pam, a medical librarianship classmate of mine and crocheter-in-chief, scored a kick-a** internship at "one of those holy grail type of places for feminists." I got the notice via an email alert, passed it to the medical lib prof who passed it to the classmates, and unbeknownst to me Pam applied and was selected from 5 finalists. I couldn't be prouder that one of our med lib people got this gig in a non-traditional area, and I think Pam will do an excellent job. Yay, Pam!!!

Thanks again to everyone who offered their condolences on the loss of my grandmother. There have been too many funerals this year, and your kind thoughts were much appreciated.

Family Reunion Pics

Lucas putting on his sunglasses over the Family Reunion weekend, July 8-9.









Zachary's sandy hands. I LOVE this picture and our brand new Fujifilm S5100. I know it's an older model but it still takes AWESOME pictures. You can see all the grains of sand on his hands!








My dad and Lucas. They have such a special bond. I love seeing it. Dad is such a better grandpa than he was a Dad. Why? He's more mellow....more forgiving in so many ways. And less stressed I think because he's not the one providing for the boys...so he can enjoy them all that much more. And Lucas is definetely a Grandpa's boy!

The little things...

It's the little things that make me happy lately. And I need a lot of help being happy. Why?
Because we're still not done with the boys' bedroom and I'd really like to sleep in my own bed again.

Because we are two weeks away from a week long vacation and I feel so unprepared for it.

Because I'm training an absolute moron at work.

I'm just feeling the stress, I guess.

But then the boys do something and it makes me smile. And remember that they are my priority and my life.

Like today...I was in the shower washing up after working on sanding the drywall in their bedroom. I was yelling at them to get their shoes on so we could meet daddy at work.

Zachary came into the bathroom and said his shoes were on, so I asked him if he could PLEASE help his brother put his shoes on. So off Zachary ran.

2 seconds later, he was back.

Z: "Mommy! Oh my gosh, Lucas put his shoes on ALL BY HIMSELF!" He was jumping up and down he was so excited for his brother.

Me: "Really?" In comes Lucas...I poke my head out and sure enough he has his shoes on....

Z: "All I helped him with was his straps. He can put his shoes on by himself Mommy!"

It really warms my heart to see my boys get so excited for one another's accomplishments. I hope it's always that way.

Camping weekend

Wow.

What a great weekend we had. We got off to a rocky start, of course, because I'm always so stressed and therefore bitchy right before a big trip.

I had my lists. I ALWAYS have to have my lists.

I had a set time I wanted to leave by. And of course, I didn't make it.

I should know by now not to have set times. Set times make me have anxiety attacks and stress unnecessarily. My motto should be "we'll get there when we get there" but I'm still learning that.

But once we got the trailer set up, and the kids were playing with their cousins, things were good. It's so awesome to see Zachary and Lucas playing with their cousins, the 6 of them get along amazingly well..most of the time. But what can you realistically expect out of 6 kids between the ages of 2 and 7?

Friday night, after the kids went to bed, and the old fogies went to bed, my brothers, my hubby and I stayed up until 1:30 am chatting at the campfire. Remembering old times, planning new ones, discussing life's philosophies. It was a lot of fun. It's funny how much I have in common with my brothers and how different I am at the same time. It's also wonderful to sit back and enjoy their company because that didn't always happen when we were younger. I guess age and having kids does that to people.

Saturday, we awoke bright and early at 7 am. Of course, Dad, Uncle Bob, and Aunt Kay were already up drinking their coffee. It's nice to be able to chat with them uninterrupted sometimes. Later on in that day we had a old fashioned family reunion picnic. It was so much fun! Danny did an awesome job planning it and scheduling the games and what not. I'm not sure that the older generation that doesn't have younger kids anymore or younger grandkids yet enjoyed it as much but it was great to have somebody take the kids into consideration for once!! We then all went back and put the boys down for naps. While they were napping, Chuck and I played Rummy. He taught me how to play and we had a great time...I enjoy my husband's company. Sometimes I forget that since we don't get to spend a lot of time together. We then went to the beach and had dinner and crashed out early.

Zachary did A LOT of bike riding this weekend as did Lucas! He's big enough to ride his Radio Flyer trycycle now that he got for his birthday and he looks mighty darn cute if I do say so myself! Zachary did wonderful with his boundaries this weekend...which is a huge step in the right direction for him. It's always been so hard with him because you just look away for 2 seconds and he'd be gone....but not this weekend. He actually asked before leaving the campsites, asked permission to do things and therefore we expanded his boundaries for bike riding to 2 campsites in either direction....and he stuck to it and had a grand time! We still had some issues with him and personal space and he got in trouble a couple of times because of that but overall I think the boys did a remarkable job. It puts my mind at a little bit more ease of doing our week camp trip to Iowa.

Off Topic: Who Wants Tickets to the Bill Maher Show?

I have two tickets for Bill Maher's appearance at the Ryman (Nashville, TN) this Saturday (July 8) at 8pm that I won from Liberadio(!). I'm not going to be able to use them due to a family commitment. I'm planning on being at the WKRN Blogger thing tomorrow night if anyone would like to get them from me then - Saturday will be too late.

Update: The tickets are going to Ms. Brittney!

Ow! Ow! Ow!

Just a little reminder to be careful out there, what with the drinking and the fireworks and whatall. Because if you're not, you may find that a bottle rocket has melted your bra through your shirt, after striking you in a fairly sensitive area. Hypothetically, that is...

Fireworks Safety Resources:

Fireworks Safety - from KidsHealth.org. Tips include, "Never try to make your own fireworks." Do people do this? If so, there should be some kind of registry, so I can move far, far away.

Fireworks Eye Safety and Treatment of Firework Eye Injury - American Academy of Opthalmology, via Medem

Preventing Eye Injuries from Fireworks - Prevent Blindness America

Fireworks-Related Injuries - fact sheet from the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Think Safety First on the Fourth - MedlinePlus

Fireworks Safety Tips - American College of Emergency Physicians

Fireworks Safety Tips for Independence Day - Consumer Reports

National Council on Fireworks Safety

Pets and Fireworks: Safety Considerations - About.com

None of these specifically mention breast safety (uh, for our hypothetical), but contain good safety tips nonetheless.

Technorati Tags: burn injuries; burns; fireworks; safety
MeSH Tags: Burns; fireworks [keyword]

Victoria's Secret Protest Over Breastfeeding Complaints

According to CBS News, "A woman offended when [Wisconsin] Victoria's Secret staff gave her only the option of an employee restroom in which to nurse her baby organized a nursing protest in front of the store." Women complained that Victoria's Secret "'plasters breasts everywhere' but seems offended when they're used for their intended purpose," and the "store's models and mannequins show more breast than the average nursing mom does." According to the story, a spokeperson for VS's parent company stated that they have a long-standing policy allowing women to breastfeed in the stores, and the company will take the opportunity to educate and remind store employees and managers of the policy. It seems, however, that this is not the first time store associates have acted contrary to the policy. Good for VS if they get the message through to their employees this time.

Assorted Coverage:
Thanks to Too Fat for Ponies for the heads up on this story. Go find out why he says, "If all this doesn't work for you then maybe you should just admit that your[sic] a shmuck and need to get sterilized so you don't cause more problems by breeding. Enlightenment is not your thing."

Legally Brunette says, "I hate that *these* women claim the label of feminist - it makes the rest of us look whiney," and thinks women who want to breastfeed in public are acting out of a sense of entitlement, being a "pain in the ass," and that women should only be able to breastfeed in public in other places where eating occurs. Ouch. Commenters are trying to set her straight.

TomFoolery takes the blame the messenger approach, saying, "a bunch of less-than-attractive mothers held a gross protest yesterday at the Crocker Park outdoor shopping extravaganza in Westlake, Ohio, to promote their right to breast feed in public. The fugly moms with babies and boobs hangin' out stationed themselves outside Victoria's Secret -- which is dangerously close to the fab store I currently work at. If I walked by that mess, I totally would've puked all over them."

Mother Talkers reminds you of your rights wrt breastfeeding.

Technorati Tags: breastfeeding; Victoria's Secret
MeSH Tags: Breast Feeding

CDC Recommends HPV Vaccination, Backlash Continues

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted on Thursday (6/29) that the HPV vaccine be routinely given to girls when they are 11-12 years old. According to the CDC's press release,
"'This vaccine represents an important medical breakthrough,' said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. 'As a result, these vaccine recommendations address a major health problem for women and represent a significant advance in women’s health. It has been tested in thousands of women around the world and has been found to be safe and effective in providing protection against the two types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers.'"

As already covered by Pandagon, Charlotte Allen of the Independent Women's Forum apparently missed the vaccine information that lets us know the vaccine is most effective when given before sexual activity begins, because she titles her post on the topic, "It's OK for Little Girls to Have Sex - As Long as They're Vaccinated." Says Ms. Allen, "But there are a few hitches--such as parents who, uh, balk at the idea of telling prepubescent girls that it’s just fine for them to have all the sex they want, ’cuz now they’ll be vaccinated! And isn’t it against the law to have sex with children?"

Somehow I doubt that little girls will be told it's "just fine" to have sex because of a vaccine that protects against just one STI and the resultant cancer. And yes, it's against the law to have sex with children. Does Ms. Allen think that young victims of sexual assault should be unnecessarily vulnerable to a potentially deadly cancer because the law is supposed to prevent their exposure to such things? According to CDC data,

"About 2 out of 1000 children in the United States were confirmed by child protective service agencies as having experienced sexual assault in 2003"
[note: using the 2004 Census data, that would be more than 106,000 children per year - figures below are for all children, not just females]
Total population in 2004 = 285,691,501
% 5-14 years old = 14.3%
% 15-17 years old = 4.3%
Total % who are children = 18.6%
# of children (rounded) = 53,138,619
(53,138,619)/1000 = 53139x2 = 106,278

"About 9% of [high school] students reported that they had been forced to have sexual intercourse."
[also from Census data, in 2000 there were 16,380,951 students enrolled in high school. 9% would be 1,474,286 students reporting forced intercourse at some point.]

"Among college students nationwide, between 20% and 25% of women reported experiencing completed or attempted rape"

Assume (perhaps inaccurately) that 1/2 of those sexually assualted children are girls - that's >50,000 female children sexually assaulted every single year, and about 700,000 reporting having already been forced to have sex by the time they are in high school. With numbers like that, is it really appropriate to refuse protection against cancer to these young women based on what they or the law should have done? The law is supposed to protect me from being crashed into by drunk drivers as well, but I still put on a seatbelt and drive carefully. Likewise, the law is supposed to prevent people from home invasions, yet many people keep a weapon stashed somewhere handy just in case. In an uncertain world, people like protection from possibilities. Let's not deny it to our young women based on a hope and a belief.

Some of Pandagon's commenters, I think, get it just right when they say:

"Did I miss the part after my tetunus boosters where my mom was supposed to tell me I was free to run around stepping on rusty nails?"

"We are trying to protect children - who grow into women - who eventually are likely to have sex, which may or may not be voluntary all the time. It’s not like it’s a difficult concept."

"When you take a 9 year old to get a vaccination, all they hear is “needle”. I promise. They don’t hear 'break out those crotchless panties, kid.'"

"I always wondered what prevented nine year olds from having sex all day. Now i know the answer, thanks to Charlotte Allen - it’s the lack of a HPV vaccine!"

"Also, they’re obviously right since the invention of penicillin as a cure for syphilis is what caused people to start having out-of-wedlock sex for the first time in recorded history…"

Coverage:

Panel unanimously recommends cervical cancer vaccine for girls 11 and up - New York Times

HPV vaccine advised for girls - Washington Post

Abstinence double standard threatens girls' health - Alternet

Salon's Broadsheet

Merck's press release

Alas, a Blog wants to know why it's being framed as a "cervical cancer vaccine" instead of an "HPV vaccine" (which it is) and why it's only for girls. It's true the that vaccine is to prevent HPV, and only certain strains, but those have been targeted due to the strong link with later cervical cancer. It's a preventative, to reduce future risk, although she raises a good point about how fewer parents might vaccinate their children if it were framed as an STD vaccine instead of focusing on the cancer reduction benefits. I imagine that the vaccine was researched with an eye toward preventing cervical cancer rather than HPV itself, in any case. The research is not complete on using the vaccine in boys.

Just Being Myself is also angry about the backlash

Touch Your Blog

Feministe also takes on Ms. Allen

Moonflake doesn't mince words, and calls her post "Mothers who want their daughters to die."

"Betty" also hasn't read the info on the studies not being done in boys yet and the notion that preventive vaccines need to be given well before sexual activity starts. What would she recommend instead of vaccination? "Teach your children. Teach them well. Answer the hard questions. Be a parent, not a reaction. Be a thinker, not a blind follower of corporate dogma."

Mary Tsao at BlogHer has a tongue-in-cheek approach, "Must-have products for raising sluts," inspired by DoctorMama

Technorati Tags: cervical cancer; Gardasil; HPV; Merck; vaccine
MeSH Tags: Papillomavirus, Human; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/prevention and control; Vaccines