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Ontario School Board Flip Flops on HPV Vaccine Decision

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ontario, November 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (H-SCDSB), which last year rejected administering a vaccine for the sexually transmitted disease HPV on school property, has now voted in favor of dispensing the drug to Grade 7 and 8 girls in H-SCDSB schools.

School board trustees voted 5-4 on Oct. 17, 2007, to reject a motion that would allow the provincial government to give out the controversial vaccine at its schools.

At that time Trustee Grace Tridico suggested the board send a letter to the Ministry asking it to "respect our Catholic values and (state) that we don't want to administer a vaccine against a sexually transmitted disease."

"The HPV vaccine is not an educational issue, it's a health issue, it does not belong in our schools. I am adamantly opposed to administering any vaccines within our schools, on school grounds. This should of course be between a parent and a medical professional," she said.

The trustees who voted against the vaccine last year said that schools must affirm the Catholic moral teaching that sex is reserved for marriage and that sexually transmitted diseases are best prevented by abstinence, and should not send a confusing and hypocritical mixed message to students.

Trustees were also concerned about the health risk of the vaccine, known as Gardasil, which, according to Judicial Watch, a non-profit interest group which has monitored the vaccine's progress, has been linked to 21 deaths of young women, hundreds of hospitalizations and thousands of adverse reactions reports, including 78 outbreaks of genital warts and 10 miscarriages, since the vaccine was made available. (See http://www.judicialwatch.org/search/node/Gardasil)

Yesterday the board voted 5-4 to reverse the previous decision after trustee Laurie Aceti, who last year voted against the vaccine, moved to hold another vote on the issue, based on a survey which purported to show that a majority of parents wanted their daughters inoculated with the vaccine in school.

"After seeing the information come forward from the poll of the parents, it brought everything back to mind," said Aceti in a Sault Star report.

"I have prayed a great deal over this and in my heart I believe it was the right decision to reconsider it, take a look at it again, and give the parents the choice of deciding what they want to do."

The vaccine has been available to students outside of schools from the Ontario Ministry of Health through its public health offices.

Trustee Kathleen Rosilius, who has resolutely opposed the vaccine, said she was disappointed in the vote, but had expected the reversal of last year's decision.

Rosilius told the Sault Star that she opposes the vaccine on moral grounds, questions the vaccine's safety, and believes too much money - $300 million from the federal government and $117 million from the province - is being spent on the inoculation program.

"When you think one in five kids is going to bed hungry in this country, you think gee (to spend so much money) for behaviour that can be changed," said Rosilius.

Rosilius introduced a motion at yesterday's meeting that a brochure published by the pro-life group Alliance for Life be sent to parents along with the vaccine consent form, in order to give a balance to the information provided by the vaccine's manufacturer.

"Everything that we've had previously was based on pro-vaccine and this is something that just cautions you," said Rosilius.

The motion will be voted on at the board's next meeting, December 10, 2008.

To contact the Trustees of the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board:
Chairman: Marchy Bruni
Phone; 705-949-9187
Email: .

90 Ontario Avenue,
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, P6B 6G7
Phone: 705-945-5400
1-800-267-0754,
Fax: 705-945-5575
Email: .

See previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Ontario Catholic School Board Rejects HPV Vaccine on School Premises
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07101806.html

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