Historians R Us

This blog is the property of the AP US History class at Pope John XXIII High School in Everett, MA, USA. Here students explore current events in America, while seeking to understand the historical roots of those events. At the same time, students are able to carry on classroom discussions in the cyber world.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Texas governor promotes premarital sex! (Not really)

Blog #1 of 3rd Quarter!
Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, has recently made Texas the first state to mandate that all females enrolled in schools be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus. Human papillomavirus, or as it is more commonly known as HPV, is a sexually transmitted disease and in recent years has been linked to cervical cancer. Perry, by passing this law has made the vaccine available and free to all young women between the ages of nine and eighteen. Young women between the ages of nineteen and twentyone will also be offered the vaccine if they cannot afford it or if they are uninsured. Many religious groups have protested claiming that this availability will cause girls to act promiscuously, as it clearly condones premarital sex. This new law benfits the maker of Gardisil greatly, as it would generate billions if the treatment was required throughout the country.
Similarly, in 1798, John Adams set up the United States Public Health Services. The program was developed to take care of seamen who were sick or injured, but it developed into a center for the control of infectious diseases. The organization devoted itself to the study of diseases and controls for such disordersrs, which eventually led them to the use of vaccinations. As Texas' governor has recently sworn to protect the health of Texas' female youth population the USPHS has dedicated it's agenda to protecting the health of the nation.