It shouldn't be mandated. People should have the right to be as stupid as they want and if they don't want to get their kid this vaccine, then that is pretty stupid.
People get too hung up on the word “sex”. This is not a vaccine given via the vagina. It is a shot in the arm and no kid (unless they are told) will know what it is, and even if they did, they wouldn't equate it to a ticket to free sex. Any kid that would be having sex because of this would already be having it any way.
The only possible downside to this is that it is new and there might be some long term issue with it. I think it was rushed out of trials because it had the potential to save so many people. That is a little worrisome, but to rage against this, because it stops a sexually transfered virus from giving people cancer is lunacy.
Perhaps if there was a vaccine that stopped people from having children for the next 10 years and it was given to girls at the age of 11, then YES that might cause a rise in sexual activity (if that vaccine existed though would more sexual activity be a bad thing?). I seriously doubt that there are that many kids NOT having sex because they think they might catch hpv. I mean how many kids even know HPV exists? In all the stuff I was told about sexually transmitted diseases in health class, HPV was never even mentioned.
Why do most people not want kids to have sex? That is an easy answer, the main reason is that they don't want the kids having kids. Disease, harm and religion are all secondary to that (and I would say that religion is probably based on not wanting “kids to have kids”, but the bible has to say God said it, not list a valid reason.) Well this vaccine doesn't stop kids from getting pregnant (and there is very little chance someone would think that it did), so why does everyone think that it will make them start having sex more?
People should start thinking with their brains instead of just having jerk reactions to words and phrases.
Well, I think more than not wanting kids to have kids, there is also the unavoidable fact that there is more to sex than the mechanical act, and when indulged at a younger age has the potential to have other consequences for which kids are not fully aware and can leave them with long term negative consequences for their lives.
If we lived in a world of anarchy with nothing remotely resembling civilization, then I’d agree with you – everyone could have sex, regardless of age and (gasp!) consent. But the definition of society and civilization is that we adhere to certain rules and restrictions, and those bring us some longer term benefits. And one of those rules is that kids should be educated about it and be capable of making good decisions before being given carte’ blanche over their own sex lives.
Now we can argue about whether the education is worth it, the fact that age limits are arbitrary since mental maturity comes for some sooner than others, the fact that society and techological advances like TV also cause kids to ‘grow up sooner’ and so on – but those arguments do not invalidate the original premise, that being that sex is not purely physical and has consequences other than reproduction.
And for the record, I’m in favor on any vaccine or therapy that changes sex from procreative to recreative. Always have been, always will be. Hold me to it.
And it isn’t just kids that don’t know about HPV. Many adults don’t either. I found out about it recently myself after someone I know became infected with it – and did my own research. It has become more visible recently after the recent vaccine story, but I think that there are other STDs that (like HPV) are insiduous but play second fiddle to Herpes, Gonhorrea, AIDS and the other well-known ones.