With everything happening on a national scale it’s easy for things that are happening on a state level to slip through the cracks. Often bills that pass on this level pick up momentum as they pass in more and more states, and can effect larger populations as they spread.
Another thing that can be widely spread is the human papillomavirus, and Texas lawmakers just voted to ban the immunization of children newly introduced in the foster care system even for HPV.
This happened in early May but was overshadowed in the news by flashy national headlines. A group called House Freedom Caucus headed up the move towards this decision, their alleged motivation being parental rights.
While there are many foster care parents who provide loving and safe homes for children it is not secret that foster situations do not always work this way. This is why mandatory vaccinations for foster care children were mandated in the first place.
Without vaccinations these children are susceptible to many diseases including HPV, which can prevent many different forms of cancer as children grow up and become sexually active. However lawmakers feel that it should be within a parent’s realm of control to deny children life saving vaccines.
Foster parent, birth parent, or grandparent, anyone who is raising a child with good intentions should not deny that child access to vaccinations. It is simply common sense and any and all rumors that vaccines can cause autism or other such issues have been disproven.
Not getting your child vaccinated is akin to abuse, you wouldn’t deny your child food, shelter, or anything else they need to survive, and medicine is no different. Passing a bill that encourages this behavior is truly dangerous.
If it were discovered that a child had not been fed in days, or otherwise neglected or abused it would be grounds for that child to be taken away. It is not a parent’s choice to harm a child; we have laws to prevent that. So why should it be outside the government’s jurisdiction to make sure children are vaccinated?
Let’s not make a point about government control in the name of children’s lives. Children in the foster care system are already high risk for many issues, lets hope Texas policy does not spread to the rest of the nation.
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