HPV Vaccine?

[ufonium2]

Let me preface this by saying I do intend to talk to my priest about this, but since he's a man, and all his children are male, I'm not even sure he's aware of this. Plus, it's 10pm and it would be rude to call.

So a commercial for the new HPV vaccine was on TV just then, and I asked my husband if he would let our (future) daughter be vaccinated for HPV, since it causes potentially fatal cancer. He said no, because cervical cancer is punishment for sexual sin, and to do so would be to interfere with God's plans to deter people from sexual promiscuity. My mother had cervical cancer, which she got from HPV, which she got from her husband. Needless to say, I have a different take on this issue than does my husband, because I don't see God punishing people via cancer for what their spouse did prior to marriage.

So what do you think? What does the Church think? Any idea.

 

[gzt]

I don't see a problem with getting it, but I'm no bioethicist [though one of my priests is, I'll probably shoot it by him next time I run into him].

 

[DonVA]

I can't speak for the church, but having known women in the past who have contracted the hpv virus, and have gone through emotional agony after a pap smear "didn't look right," I think a vaccine to protect them from this is as valid as a flu shot. In fact, my son came home from school with a memo to parents letting them know that this vaccine was available for girls... and all I could think was how great it was that women could now be protected.

You are right, sometimes it's not promiscuity on the woman's part that makes them victim to this virus. Sneaky husbands can bring it home to their wives.

 

[Oblio]

All disease is a result of the fall. Why get any vaccinations

 

[Oblio]

Next time hubby has a hangover, tell him it is Divine punishment and withold aspirin

 

[choirfiend]

Is AIDS punishment for sexual activity? For all those thousands and thousands of women and children who are infected through OTHERS' promiscuity, is it God's wrath?

Since when does God punish? Dont we just suffer the consequences of our choices(and sometimes the consequences of others' choices)?
"For those who choose to be sexually active, a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner is the strategy most likely to prevent future genital HPV infections. However, it is difficult to determine whether a partner who has been sexually active in the past is currently infected."



I say a big NOOOO WAAAAAY on this one. Sorry, I think your hubby's attitude on this one is way off base.

 

[zhilan]

I think it is fine and a good idea to get. My doctor talked to me about this. Even if your daughter waits until marriage, she could get it from her husband if he had not waited. Is her husband's sin, her divine punishment?

And despite that, God does not give "divine punishment." God welcomes back repentant sinners with open arms.

 

[Matrona]

I agree with all the posts so far. I don't agree with the way they're marketing this vaccine (which doesn't prevent all transmissions of HPV, and HPV is not the only cause of cervical cancer) but I'm glad they have it now. What if a girl gets HPV from being raped? Is rape a punishment, too?!

Ufonium, I think your husband needs a long talk with the priest about why things like this happen to people. His is a horrible way of thinking.

 

[MariaRegina]

The last time WHO had a vaccine targeted only for girls, it was determined to cause miscarriages
and was deliberately engineered as a birth control device.
This fraud was unleashed by WHO and was discovered and revealed by Catholic doctors around 1993.
Sadly, Catholic nations like the Philippines and Mexico were targeted.

Why is this vaccine only targeted for girls? The studs need the vaccine more than the girls.

 

[zhilan]

The last time WHO had a vaccine targeted only for girls, it was determined to cause miscarriages
and was deliberately engineered as a birth control device.
This fraud was unleashed by WHO and was discovered and revealed by Catholic doctors around 1993.
Sadly, Catholic nations like the Philippines and Mexico were targeted.

Why is this vaccine only targeted for girls? The studs need the vaccine more than the girls.

It's targeted only for girls because men don't get cervical cancer.

 

[MariaRegina]

It's targeted only for girls because men don't get cervical cancer.

Yeah, but men spread it to their unsuspecting wives perhaps years later after living an immoral lifestyle.

 

[zhilan]

But they cannot get cervical cancer so the vaccine would not do them any good.

 

[Dust and Ashes]

I thought the vaccine was for HPV not the cervical cancer caused by HPV. If men can carry HPV and give it to women, would there not also be a way to vaccinate men for it?

 

[choirfiend]

There are no HPV tests available for men to even determine if they have it. Even for women, in 90% of them, the virus becomes undetectable after 2 years and the only thing you can do is have pap smears to look for damage.

There are over 100 kinds of HPV, and only 30 or being sexually transmitted, and only 10 or so of those being sometimes cancer-causing. Most infection is undetectable and the numbers I'm reading say that between 50-75% of sexually active people have gotten a form of the virus at one point or another. So a vaccine for men would not be the most useful. This info and much more is all available online.

 

[kamikat]

The statistics are that 1 out of every 4 American women will be the vicitm of some sort of sexual abuse or assult. This means that even "good" girls might have unwelcomed sexual activity. If this vaccine helps to eliminate one of the awful side effects of these brutal attacks, that's a good thing.

 

[eoe]

Let me preface this by saying I do intend to talk to my priest about this, but since he's a man, and all his children are male, I'm not even sure he's aware of this.

If he has a TV he is aware of this and many other feminine products that he wishes he did not know about.

So a commercial for the new HPV vaccine was on TV just then, and I asked my husband if he would let our (future) daughter be vaccinated for HPV, since it causes potentially fatal cancer. He said no, because cervical cancer is punishment for sexual sin, and to do so would be to interfere with God's plans to deter people from sexual promiscuity. My mother had cervical cancer, which she got from HPV, which she got from her husband. Needless to say, I have a different take on this issue than does my husband, because I don't see God punishing people via cancer for what their spouse did prior to marriage.

Has your husband been vaccinated for anything? Flu shots?

So what do you think? What does the Church think? Any idea.

I think this is a vaccination like any other.

from oca:

QUESTION:

I was born into Orthodoxy, but do not know where the church stands on childhood immunizations / vaccinations. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.


ANSWER:

There are no statements by the Orthodox Church against childhood immunizations / vaccinations. I have never heard of an Orthodox Christian objecting to such immunizations on religious grounds for any reason.

I found a registration form for a pigrimage on the GOA websie - it required information on immunizations.

Another pdf on the site contains this:

NEW YORK – The U.S. Fund for
UNICEF honored the Greek Orthodox
community and the Ladies Philoptochos
Society for their enduring commitment to
UNICEF and its life-saving and life-enhanc-
ing programs for children in need during
an honorary Luncheon hosted at a central
Manhattan hotel.
Charles J. Lyons, U.S. Fund presi-
dent, praised the Archdiocese and the
Philoptochos for the generosity shown
to UNICEF.
“UNICEF is the world’s safety net for
children,” he said, “…and on behalf of
those children we express our deepest
appreciation and look forward to a con-
tinued partnership…”
The program included a video presen-
tation on the worldwide efforts of UNICEF
in preserving and improving the lives of
children during the second part of the 20th
Century. Nils Kastberg, UNICEF’s director
of emergency programs in his keynote pre-
sentation spoke about the organization’s
work in Iraq, the vaccination campaign
and the efforts of UNICEF to create “a
sense of normalcy for the children of Iraq
in the midst of abnormality.”
He also spoke about the HIV-Aids virus
and how adversely it affects the lives of chil-
dren, especially girls in African countries.
He recounted the extensive and
chronic malnutrition of children in North
Korea and the bleak conditions for chil-
dren in Afghanistan. “Because of the vac-
cination program this year 35,000 children
will not die of measles there” he said.
Mr. Lyons presented separate hon-
orary plaques to Archbishop Demetrios
and National Philoptochos president
Georgia Skeadas.
His Eminence commended “the re-
silience of UNICEF’s work and urged all
present to “work for the elimination of all
obstacles and pave the way for a brighter
future for the worlds children.”
Georgia Skeadas, in accepting the
honor noted that the National Philopto-
chos has contributed to UNICEF over 300
thousand dollars since 1979, the Year of
the Child. She recognized the contribu-
tions of many Philoptochos members and
in particular Sophia Altin, Terry Kokas and
Lila Prounis.
Mrs. Skeadas on behalf of the
National Philoptochos, presented to
UNICEF a check for twenty thousand
dollars for the immediate needs of their
program in Iraq.
The list of honored guests included
Bishop Andonios of Phasiane, director
of the Department of Philanthropy and
Bishop Savas of Troas, the Archdiocese
chancellor.

I have seen cancer and I hate it. I will do anything and everything I can to prevent it in those I love.

 

[Monica child of God 1]

God offers infinite forgiveness and infinite grace. He even loves the drug addict who contracts HIV from dirty needles and the man who visits prostitutes and waits to welcome them home. This whole business about HPV being God's punishment for naughty girls is so sad. I don't see at all how it fits in with our theology.

M.

 

[Matrona]

This whole business about HPV being God's punishment for naughty girls is so sad. I don't see at all how it fits in with our theology.

To me, it's like saying famine is God's punishment for being poor....

 

[repentant]

Do you all know that 1 in 3 people right now have HPV?

 

[Xpycoctomos]

I don't think that this is an issue that one should feel needs to be brought up with their priest anymore than other vaccinations. i am not saying one should NOT bring it up with him, but i can't see how the vaccine in and of itself would bring up any reason to make it a spiritual matter any more than taking Malaria pills. Now the only reason I could see it being brought up to your priest is because it has caused unexpected conflict between you and your husband.

let me take a stab at what MIGHT be really bothering your husband. This is his daughter, and no matter how over-protective a mother might THINK she is of her daughter, from what I understand there is nothing more over-protective than a father of a daughter, especially when a topic even HINTS at the fact that she may in some way be sexually active. I'm not even a father yet, but I get anxious and uneasy when I think of my daughter (that, mind you, doesn't exist yet) goes on her first date. This HPV stuff smacks at the fact that your daughter is/will one day be a woman and all that could possibly go along with that. I think he is afraid that giving her this vaccine is kind of like getting her birth control "just in case". "Nw, honey, you know you should wait until marriage, but just in case, I want you to start taking these." Now, that's absurd, because even if she did abandon her faith or "mess up" once, it's not as if the HPV is a major deterrent in most women's minds. there's still preganancy and even worse, other common STDs. And, perhaps an even more important factor is what others have mentioned about the potential getting HPV from non-consentual sex or a husband who once-upon-a-time led a less than moral life.

I am not validating the feelings of your husband, I am only trying to offer possible insight into what he might be REALLY thinking. I would hope he were above Jerry Farwell in this line of thinking.

John