Mandatory Ultrasound vs. HPV Vaccine: Virginia Lawmakers Debate Government Overreach

The Virginia Senate, following in the lower house's footsteps, considered two bills this week that expose a major philosophical difference dividing Republicans and Democrats: the line between a law that properly protects women's health and one that reaches too far into women's private medical decisions.

When the GOP-dominated lower house passed a bill last week that would force women to undergo an ultrasound procedure before having an abortion, even when it's medically unnecessary, Democrats criticized the bill for mandating a government overreach into a decision that should be made between a woman and her doctor.

"A party that claims to be about small government is now mandating a medical procedure," Sen. Barbara Favola (D) told HuffPost. "There is no other example in the Virginia code where politicians are telling doctors how to practice medicine."

Republicans see it differently. The same lawmakers in the House of Delegates who pushed the mandatory ultrasound bill have thrown their support behind a bill to repeal an existing state law requiring girls to receive the human papillomavirus vaccine before the sixth grade. They offered up the same logic to criticize the HPV vaccine mandate that the Democrats used against the ultrasound mandate.

"We just want to make sure parents are evaluating the risks of what they're giving their daughters, and not a legislative body," said Del. Kathy Byron (R), who sponsored both the mandatory ultrasound bill and the HPV vaccine repeal. "I don't think that we have the medical degree to make those decisions."

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), who helped GOP lawmakers rewrite the ultrasound legislation, joined state Republicans in opposing the HPV vaccine mandate.

"The vaccination policy was passed here in Virginia in 2007, and Governor [Tim] Kaine amended the bill to include a general opt-out," McDonnell's spokeswoman, Taylor Thornley, told HuffPost on Tuesday. "The mandate is not a policy with which the [current] governor agrees."

As Thornley noted, the HPV vaccine law -- unlike the ultrasound bill, which would apply to all women seeking an abortion -- established an informed-consent procedure. It requires the state to send a letter telling parents that the HPV vaccination is available for their daughters and then lets them opt out of having their children vaccinated if they wish.

Proponents of the vaccine say it's no different from the other immunizations the state requires, such as polio, tetanus and hepatitis. Of the 6.2 million American women who contract HPV each year, about 10,000 develop cervical cancer as a result, and doctors argue that widespread use of the vaccine would greatly reduce those numbers.

"The HPV vaccine is fundamentally different from the mandatory ultrasound because it's a public health issue," said Del. Chris Stolle (R), who is also a gynecologist. "From my perspective, the ultrasound is too much government intrusion into health care. But HPV is a communicable disease" that can be prevented by a vaccine.

The current argument in Virginia mimics the national debate over the HPV vaccine mandate late last year. Fellow GOP presidential candidates attacked Texas Gov. Rick Perry for having signed an executive order in 2007 requiring the vaccine. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) described the mandate as "having little girls inoculated at the force and compulsion of the government," and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) slammed it for being a "government injection."

But Bachmann proposed a federal mandatory ultrasound bill in October similar to the original ultrasound bill that Virginia Republicans proposed. The congressional bill would force women to undergo an invasive transvaginal ultrasound procedure before having an abortion.

"These positions are totally in conflict with each other," said Del. Charniele Herring (D), the Virginia House minority whip. "It doesn't make sense -- your government can reach into the doctor's office at this point, but not at that point. They want it both ways."

The Virginia Senate passed the mandatory ultrasound bill on Tuesday by a vote of 21 to 19. They had voted on Monday to delay the HPV vaccine repeal until next year's legislative session.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Del. Chris Stolle as a Democrat. He is a Republican.

Comments

[brew8jn]

08:51 PM on 03/06/2012

The people that want vaccinations to be mandatory must not have children. I have read horror stories about girls that gotten the hpv vaccine....girls that were healthy and active and now can't even function after having this vaccine...everything from debilitating headaches to paralysis. You must educate yourself and take into account that some vaccines haven't been around long enough to know WHAT they will do later in life.

[CandyRaptor]

01:48 PM on 03/16/2012

I notice you didn't comment on unnecessary ultrasound procedures women will be forced to undergo.

[howilostmyuterus]

10:12 PM on 03/04/2012

As a survivor of cervical cancer who was robbed of her ability to carry my child, I know first hand why this vaccine is so important to our youth. We buy car insurance for our kids, but we aen't advocating for them to have an accident. We are protecting them just incase their is an accident. I see the HPV vaccine the same way. Human beings are hard-wired to desire intimate, sexual contact and no one calls home for permission to have sexual experiences. So as parents we have to do the responsible thing and vaccinate our child early before sex is even on their radar. If you still aren't sure read HOW I LOST MY UTERUS and FOUND MY VOICE...you'll learn quickly why we must protect our children and ourselves...not doing so could cost us our life, fertility of that of someone we love.

[CandyRaptor]

01:49 PM on 03/16/2012

Fanned and faved.

[ProgressivesLoveAmerica]

05:29 PM on 03/03/2012

Typical Republican small government conservatism:

Government ought to be small enough to fit in your doctor's office, in your bedroom, and in your womb! Forget The Consequences, even if it could result in the humiliation, devastating injury, or the death of countless women in this country...Feeding red meat to a puritanical base is more important!

[maximumride]

03:53 PM on 03/01/2012

for a group pf people who claim to want small government and want government to quit interfering, the gop sure do like big government and government interference when it suits their agenda. they are not physicians. i am absolutely appalled at the silence from the medical profession regarding this gop over reach. they need to speak up.

[Jack Knowlton]

02:52 AM on 03/01/2012

Come on, people. It's still "one man (or woman), one vote". We can all end this if we...

QUIT....ELECTING.....REPUBLICANS!

[MarconiDarwin]

04:56 PM on 02/29/2012

Women who vote Republican: you are stupid, because you can end this assault on your rights, and on others'.

[BCinVA]

04:32 PM on 02/29/2012

Logic and reasoning do not apply to republicans, it all about ideology and nothing else. Just vote them out, it is all you can do.

[MarconiDarwin]

04:56 PM on 02/29/2012

Not until women stop voting for them.

[YogiDarwin]

03:56 PM on 02/29/2012

From the standpoint of evolutionary psychology this is fascinating stuff. From the very beginning of the human species men have tried to control women's sexuality. The only thing that has changed is the means used to do so.

[Derni]

03:43 PM on 02/29/2012

Vote Elizabeth Warren and for all other Democratic women that stand up for you

[WI Dude]

03:40 PM on 02/29/2012

Not since World War II have we witnessed such a vision of doctor-patient relationships.

[Sieggy]

03:40 PM on 02/29/2012

So . . . how is that bill requiring a digital prostate exam and full colonoscopy for men before they can get erectile dysfunction medication doing . . .?

[caseyhd]

02:21 PM on 02/29/2012

Gee I wonder who I'm voting for in November. Sheeesh.

[Strywever]

02:16 PM on 02/29/2012

More cognitive dissonance and hypocrisy from the right? Shocking. Just shocking. /snark

[CandyRaptor]

01:52 PM on 03/16/2012

I bestow the Snarkologist award upon you.

[idontcook]

02:08 PM on 02/29/2012

Note that VA Gen Assembly also voted to get rid of the "one handgun per month" bill. Why don't they just admit they all want to buy lots of guns, and they can then just shoot the women who want abortions and any doc willing to provide them? Because of course, those Republicans know what is best for everyone, especially women. :)
Just sad....I'm thinking I should move away from Virginia.

[WillowInTheWind]

01:59 PM on 02/29/2012

I don't think that the GOP understands that to win elections, you need to make people happy not angry with you. These guys have absolutely no grip on reality.

[rockymtngma]

04:29 PM on 02/29/2012

The problem is that they are making at least a portion of the electorate happy; a dysfunctional portion of the elctorate to be sure, but enough people to make the GOTP feel like they can win. The rest of us just need to vote -- and encourage our friends to vote -- come the general election in November.