Toronto Catholic District School Board Allows HPV Vaccine

 
In the fight against superstition there are good days and there are bad days. Today is one of the good days when the Toronto Catholic School Board rejected the advice of the Catholic bishops and decided to go ahead with the HPV vaccination program [Catholic trustees vote to allow HPV vaccine in schools].

TORONTO -- In a move keeping with their counterparts across the province, trustees at the Toronto Catholic District School Board overwhelmingly voted in favour of allowing public health nurses to administer the controversial HPV vaccine in its schools.

After a discussion that lasted more than 90 minutes, trustees voted 9-3 in favour of the motion, rightly putting the health of their daughters over morality, one trustee said.

"I sure don't want to know that the headlines in two decades will read 'Catholic women lead in deaths for cervical cancer,' " trustee Maria Rizzo said during a passionately delivered statement to the board.

"I have a 16-year-old daughter. I'm sorry she's not in Grade 8."

In a separate motion brought forward by Ms. Rizzo, the board also agreed to lobby other levels of government to expand the free vaccination program to all eligible women.

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[Photo Credit: The photograph shows the Most Reverend James Wingle, D.D., Bishop of St. Catharines, President of the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops, whose advice was rejected by the Toronto Catholic School Borad.]