Pharmaceutical giant Merck announced today that it will stop lobbying state legislatures to make the HPV vaccine Gardasil mandatory for all girls entering middle school.

It would be unfortunate if this were seen as a victory for the religious right which contended that such mandatory vaccinations would encourage promiscuity in young girls. So far only Texas has enacted a policy of mandatory vaccinations, giving parents the right to opt out if they objected for religious reasons, but 20 others states were also considering similar measures.

I have maintained that we needed to understand the long term use of Gardasil before making vaccinations mandatory, and with GlaxoSmithKline Plc expected to file in April for US regulatory approval for its cervical cancer vaccine Cervarix, lawmakers might be giving Merck an unfair monopoly as well as sanctioning tax dollars to enrich big pharma.

To me this was always a medical issue, and it always seemed as if lawmakers were rushing to judgment in making vaccinations mandatory, and apparently the American Academy of Family Physicians agrees. According to this article in USA Today, the AAFP said in a February 7th statement:

“…the American Academy of Family Physicians on Feb. 7 issued a policy statement that said it was “premature” to consider requiring immunization for school entry.”Long-term safety with widespread use, stability of supply and economic issues” must be clarified first, the statement said.”

Cervical Cancer claims about Three Hundred Thousand women’s lives each year, and it’s encouraging that pharmaceutical companies are working on ways to prevent HPV infections, but what this country doesn’t need are lobbyists pushing state governments to regulate and mandate health care decisions when we don’t have all the facts.

Gardasil is a great first step, but we need to do more. We need to educate people, especially teens, about the dangers of STDs, how to get and use condoms and why they need to always use them, and we need to build self esteem and self respect among young people who are just discovering their sexuality. This was never a religious or moral issue, it’s always been about women’s health.