AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas Governor Rick Perry has signed an executive order that will require all schoolgirls to be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. Girls will have to get Merck's new vaccine Gardasil, which protects against strains of H-P-V that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. Texas becomes the first state to require the shots. Merck is paying for efforts to pass laws in several states that would require the vaccine for girls as young as eleven or 12. Conservatives are concerned that the requirement will step on parental rights, and will signal tacit approval of sexual activity for young girls. The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots before they are likely to be sexually active.
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