Getting Controversial: Looking at the HPV Vaccine

Hello, friends.

My first few posts have been mostly upbeat, in which I have presented positive examples of how interfaith can work well in the world. But I want to really look at any religious topics I find intriguing, and so I am going to now venture into possibly contentious territory. We all choose our religion, or choose to remain a member of the religion we were raised in, for a reason, and presumably because we agree with most of our particular faith's beliefs. So everyone is not always going to agree on everything. The important thing to remember is that there are productive ways to discuss these topics, even when we do not hold the same viewpoint. I am not afraid to say to my friends on particular topics, "I see your point of view, but I disagree."

One of these instances came when I was discussing the HPV vaccine with a close friend of mine, a very religious Catholic college student from Virginia. For those who do not know, HPV can cause cervical cancer, is usually transmitted through sexual contact, and about ten years ago a vaccine came out that, taken in three shots over a few months, could actually prevent girls from getting HPV. Most of the girls I knew in high school got it. Basically, by getting three shots, one could AVOID GETTING CANCER. But my friend here told me that in her religious community in Northern Virginia, the girls were told they should not get this vaccine, and so she had chosen to abstain from getting it.

I was baffled, and shocked. How could something that might prevent her from getting cancer be a bad thing? She went on to explain the reasoning behind this point of view, which I will make my best attempt to present here.

In her type of strict Catholic religious beliefs, as with many other passionate Christian denominations (and in Islam, Judaism--basically many of the more conservative groups of any religion), members plan to refrain from sexual contact prior to marriage, hypothetically marrying another who has done the same. In this way, two virgins marrying one another, there would be little chance of contracting HPV. With the widespread presence in the media, television, movies, etc. of rampant sex outside of marriage, groups like hers believe that the HPV vaccine is just another way of taking away the consequences of having sex with multiple partners.

While I admire her belief in a more modest lifestyle, as I do agree that there is definitely too much of a sexualization of American culture, this reasoning about HPV does not hold with me for several reasons.

1. There are always exceptions to the ideal of two individuals who have never had sex marrying one another. Your spouse could be a widow or widower and have contracted the virus from his or her previous spouse. Or you might fall in love with someone who "found G-d" later in life, and supposedly find full acceptance in religious communities: he or she might have contracted the virus as a younger sexually-active person. Or, G-d forbid, one's spouse could just lie about being a virgin.

2. We live in a beautiful world, but sometimes horrible things happen...like rape. It is not easy to talk about for many people, but the possibility of being raped (especially as a woman) is a very real one. If a woman is raped, it would be horrible to then find out, on top of the trauma caused by the assault, she has HPV and gets cancer that could have been prevented by simply going to her doctor a few times. I wonder if religious groups who do not get the HPV vaccine think about this.

3. HPV sometimes does not fully manifest or even show symptoms for years. So someone could be unaware they have it, then pass it on, as in the case of a widow/er.

In the end, it still seems like a no-brainer to me...get shots, hopefully avoid cancer. I do not think the scientists developing this were trying to encourage people to go out wantonly and have sex with more people, nor is this a free license to do so. Whatever prompted the discovery of the vaccine, it does not change the fact that it has benefits--for those who choose to be sexually active before they get married, and those who choose to wait.

Now go out and love one another. Have a good closing to Shabbat, however you are spending it today.

<3,
Allyson