Lori Schlieve, Devils Lake, letter: Gardasil is about cancer, not sex

DEVILS LAKE — Somehow, Danny Omdahl has taken the leap that if parents opt to give their daughter the Gardasil vaccine, we have given up on telling our girls to wait (“Editorial distorted Bachmann’s words,” letter, Page D3, Sept. 25).

Not hardly, Mr. Omdahl. I simply wanted to do all I could to protect my child from certain forms of cancer.

I didn’t tell her at 14 that she now was able to safely run off and take on the entire male population. As I recall, at the time she had the vaccination, she still considered boys to be the definition of gross.

In my opinion, the chances of my child ever being infected with one of the viruses that can cause the cancers Gardasil will prevent is a lot higher than the odds she will ever contract the other illnesses we all vaccinate our children against.

Not because she is or ever was promiscuous or an “early starter,” but because, like it or not, sexually transmitted diseases are out there, just as they have been for centuries.

A virgin having sex for the first time on her wedding night is capable of contracting an SDT.

I did a wonderful job raising a responsible, intelligent and moral child. The fact that she had the Gardasil vaccination was peace of mind that even though she may think some guy is as innocent as he says he is, on the off chance that he has been off sewing wild oats, she has a better chance of being protected.

I didn’t raise her to be a nun, just responsible and smart.

Considering that in “old times,” it was customary for our ancestors to be married off and bearing children as young as 12 and 13, those of us who have raised and are raising daughters in this day in age are required to be more than aware of what is happening in their lives and the world at large.

I can assure you my child waited much longer to have sex than the age she was when she had a Gardasil vaccination.

Get real, Mr. Omdahl. Gardasil is a health issue, not a moral or sexual issue.

Lori Schlieve

Tags: in the mail, opinion, gardasil, health, vaccines, vaccination, cancer, updates