| Page 2 of 2 < |
D.C. Bill Would Mandate Vaccine
N.Y. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, right, in the District at the request of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, visited the new D.C. Council during its first meeting. A vaccination bill introduced at the meeting would affect girls 13 and younger
(By Andrea Bruce -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
An official at Focus on the Family, a Colorado-based conservative group, said that although the group supports widespread access and use of the vaccine, it was also concerned about actions that affect parental authority. "Parents should have total control over whether they vaccinate their children or not," said Linda Klepacki, an analyst for the group.
District students must be vaccinated against such diseases as chicken pox, measles and mumps, she said, but HPV is different because it can't be spread casually.
Klepacki expressed concern that a program that would give parents the chance to "opt out" might make it too difficult to do so or leave parents uninformed. "It depends on what 'opt out' means. How difficult is the process? Is it really their decision?" she asked.
The introduction of the bill does not specify how parents could take that step, but Catania stressed that the option would exist and that there would be no penalties for children who were not vaccinated.
He said he hoped parents and guardians would think long-term and use the vaccination to talk about the delicate subject of sexually transmitted diseases. "The hard stuff is putting the parents and guardians in a position to have this conversation," Catania said.
Other bills introduced at the council session are expected to generate months of debate, including a measure that would remove the city's emergency medical services agency from the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department and make EMS a separate agency.
Another bill would abolish the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. and the National Capital Revitalization Corp., quasi-public agencies whose disputes have delayed the $800 million redevelopment of 47 acres along the District's Southwest waterfront.
The council also voted 10 to 1 to keep the $611 million cap on spending on the baseball stadium through emergency legislation. The cap, which the council approved last year, was established through emergency and temporary legislation, which expires Jan. 19.
The latest emergency legislation opened nearly two hours of debate about overspending, parking garages and other matters related to the ballpark. Permanent legislation on the cap will require hearings, and council member Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large), chairman of the Economic Development Committee, said he expected them to be extensive.
At the session, council members paused to chat with New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (R), who was in town at the invitation of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D).
