Teenage Sex, Cancer, and the Daily Mail

Combining two of the Daily Mail’s favourite subjects - cancer and nubile young women, Broken Hut has an excellent post discussing the bad science and bad morality surrounding opposition to teenage girls receving a vaccine which protects against the Human Papilloma Virus (responsible for 70% of cervical cancer cases in Britain). The logic goes, HPV is a sexually transmitted infection, therefore vaccinating girls will encourage them to have sex. Of course. Much in the same way tetanus boosters encourage people to stab themselves with rusty nails. Of course, this is different, because stabbing oneself with a rusty nail is perfectly acceptable, but God forbid teenage girls start having sex. That would be the end of the world.

Ithika’s discussion is here, I encourage you all to read it.

4 comments May 14th, 2007