Durante las últimas semanas, el control del gobierno de los EE.UU. sobre nuestras vidas se ha convertido en un problema cada vez mayor conforme el gobierno busca comprar acciones en los bancos endebles para tratar de rescatar a nuestra economía.
While some view this move as highly controversial and intrusive, others disagree. However, a new governmental policy to control the bodies of young immigrant girls 11 and over is across the board controversial. What is this move? The U.S. government has now instituted a new requirement that all young women ages 11 through 26 who wish to immigrate to the U.S. receive the new Gardasil vaccine - whether their parents like it or not.
Let’s step back for a moment. It has long been the policy of the former INS and now USCIS to require all immigrants to obtain medical vaccinations prior to obtaining immigrant status in order to protect the spread of diseases in the U.S. Until recently, those vaccinations included the following: Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Haemophilus Influenza type b (Hib), Hepatitis B, Varicella, Pneumococcal and Influenza. On July 1st of this year, at the recommendation of the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (USCIS update, July 24, 2008, www.uscis.gov), the following 5 vaccines were added: Rotavirus, Hepatitis A, Meningococcal, Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Zoster.
It is the 4th vaccine, Human papillomavirus, Gardasil, vaccine, that has sparked great controversy in the immigrant community. According to the CDC website, Gardasil was developed to prevent cervical cancer, precancerous genital lesions and genital warts due to the Human papillomavirus or “HPV”. HPV is an incurable infection and one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the United States. The vaccine for HPV is administered in a series of three injections over a period of six months. It is recommended for females ages 9 to 26.
As with the other vaccines on the list, the USCIS included Gardasil as a required vaccine in order to prevent and control the occurrence of a serious and incurable disease. However, the requirement also poses two major issues: 1) long-term health implications of a new drug and 2) denying parents the power to make their own personal decision of how to best prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and educate their children on this issue. Thus, as of July 1, 2008, little 11 year old girls, who may or may not be sexually active, will not be allowed to become Lawful Permanent Residence without first being injected with a vaccine that has not been extensively tested.
Certainly, the first issue, the long-term health implications of a relatively recent and untested vaccine, is extremely important - especially given the most recent debate whether regular vaccinations contribute to or cause autism. However, the need for all member s of the community to receive vaccinations that are absolutely essential to prevent the spread of disease is quite different than forcing a parent of an innocent 11 year old girl to receive a vaccine designed to protect against sexual diseases, where the long term effects are still unknown.
On their website, (www.gardasil.com) Gardasil provides a special section for parents to assist them in making an informed decision before choosing to have the vaccine administered to their daughters. However, what is missing from the websites of the pharmaceutical company, the USCIS and the CDC is any mention of the fact that long-term medical studies have not been conducted on the vaccine, unlike all other USCIS required vaccinations. In fact, Gardasil was only introduced in 2006. Therefore, while recent tests have not shown serious side effects, more long-term tests should and must be conducted to ascertain the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine before making it a mandatory vaccine under U.S. immigration law. Certainly, had thalidomide been well tested back in the 1950s and 60s before allowing pregnant women to receive it, so many unanticipated birth defects could have been prevented.
The second issue presented by this mandatory vaccine is equally troubling: should not all, Americans and non-Americans alike, have the option of how to safeguard their minor children from STDs? While many parents opt to take the prevention route, others are more conservative and prefer to encourage their children to engage in abstinence to prevent STDs. Is it not a parent’s right to determine how sexual education and activity is handled in the privacy of their own homes?
Individuals have always been asked by society to give up freedoms for the greater benefit of all others in that society. However, this time the USCIS’ rule goes way too far: medical and moral dilemmas such as whether to administer a barely untested vaccine fall within the realm of parental control, not USCIS control.
