And no, I won’t give a pass to Maryland Sen. Delores Kelley (D), who introduced a similar mandate in September 2008, nor to the non-partisan, Women In Government, a nationwide conglomerate who also receives Merck monies. After the debate Henry I. Miller, MD of the Hoover Institution wrote in praise of the Gardasil, likening it to a motorcycle helmet for the cervix in a worthy public health endeavor, so some physicians don’t mind the use of a little force, eh, mandate.
While not at all taking their part, in truth I’m not as upset with Merck, whose job it is to make a clean buck – but how can you make honest cash in an industry so thoroughly constrained by the need to curry government favor?
Because that’s the real crux of this issue: A governor got high-handed in a society that constantly rewards politicians for protecting them from all sorts of ailments and behavioral consequences, where parents and doctors are just as quick to ask government to mandate this or that on someone else’s dime as deal with – and pay for- their own problems. Am I against all public health? No, but it can come with a price. Spare me your outrage when a politician like Perry plays your game in a way that has statistically rewarded him in the past. And climb down off your high horse when a pol like Bachmann makes unsupported claims about the vaccine causing mental retardation – you the public ask our elected leaders on a daily basis to weigh in on matters in which they have no knowledge, I guess, to save you a buck and a little worry.
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