Ontario City’s Catholic Trustees Oppose HPV Vaccination in Schools, Stall Implementation
By John-Henry Westen
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON, September 13, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Elected trustees of the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (H-SCDSB) have objected to implementing a plan to vaccinate girls in the Board’s Catholic schools with the controversial HPV vaccine.
The recently developed HPV vaccine is designed to prevent the sexually transmitted disease Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer. HPV is not preventable with condom use. The vaccine has had little long-term testing and is thus of concern to some health-care professionals.
"This is presuming (premarital sex is) happening and I hate like hell to see this coming into Catholic schools," said trustee Regis O’Connor, during the meeting, according to the Sault Star. "For us to encourage or even promote vaccinations in our schools of such an untried vaccine, I think is very irresponsible," said trustee Lauri Aceti.
John Stadnyk, the H-SCDSB’s director of education, backed the vaccine and questioned whether the elected trustees had the power to block the vaccines. "What is not clear to me, and it’s not clear to many of the boards in the province, is, as board trustees, do you have the power to stop this initiative," Stadnyk told trustees as reported by the Sault Star.
Trustee Grace Tridico suggested the board send a letter to the Ministry asking the board 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.
To contact the Trustees of the Huron-Superior Catholic School Board
90 Ontario Avenue,
Sault Ste. Marie,
P6B 6G7
Phone - (705) 945-5400
1-800-267-0754,
Fax - (705) 945-5575
e-mail -
Chairman: Marchy Bruni (705) 949-9187
John Caputo (705) 942-0178
Regis O’Connor (705) 779-2483
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Grace Tridico (705) 254-3725
Laurie Aceti (705) 949-7985
Gerald Beerkens (705) 856-2451
Sandra Turco (705) 253-4070
Lindsay Liske (705) 869-1401
Kathleen Rosilius (705) 461-3582
Conrad Bobiwash (705) 356-1396
See previous articles on the issue
Drug Conglomerate funds campaign to impose Mandatory HPV Vaccine on Young Girls
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07020204.html
Canada’s Conservative Government Distributes $300 Million to Provinces for Controversial HPV Vaccination
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07032106.html
New Mexico Close to Mandating HPV Vaccine for 6th Grade Girls Despite Lingering Questions about Safety
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07031408.html
Judicial Watch Uncovers Three Deaths Relating to HPV Vaccine
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/may/07052501.html
Merck Drug Company Drops Campaign for Mandatory HPV Vaccine
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07022109.html
Experts raise worries about HPV vaccine
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070801/hpv_vaccine_070801/...
Our Girls are Not Guinea Pigs - Is the up-coming Canadian HPV mass inoculation of a generation unnecessary and potentially dangerous? - MacLeans magazine
http://www.macleans.ca/science/health/article.jsp?content=20070827_108312_108312