Contact: Richard D. Ackerman, President, Pro-Family Law Center, 951-308-6454

SACRAMENTO, Mar. 14 /Standard Newswire/ -- Pro-family advocacy groups won a battle in a heated skirmish over whether parents ought to have a say-so about a mandatory vaccination for HPV (human papilloma virus) proposed by California Assembly Member Ed Hernandez (D) through Assembly Bill 16.

After a flurry of testimony and written analyses by the groups, the bill was voluntarily tabled by Dr. Hernandez after approval and motion by the Chairman of the Assembly Health Committee during yesterday's hearing.  A vote on AB16, following anticipated amendments consistent with the concerns of parents-rights advocates, will take place in April of this year.  The Assembly Health Committee consists of 15 members, most of whom are Democrats.

Representatives of Traditional Values Coalition, Campaign for Children and Families, Pro-Family Law Center, California Family Council, Capitol Resource Institute, and Dr. Angela Griffiths all testified in opposition to the bill which would have mandated vaccination for HPV, a sexually transmitted disease, before a girl could move on to the seventh grade.  The California Catholic Conference and others also weighed in on the issue through written opposition.  The unprecedented mandate was proposed to be applicable to all private and public schools and Merck Pharmaceuticals was and is pushing the use of the vaccine for girls as young as nine.  Merck would have likely made billions had the vaccine been forced onto California families by legislative mandate.

Among other things pointed out by the groups, the Pro-Family Law Center stated in its written legislative analysis that, "According to information published by the CDC and Merck Pharmaceuticals, it appears that Gardisil was only tested worldwide on approximately 25,000 people between the ages of 9 and 26. According to the American College of Pediatricians, the vaccine was tested on only 1121 girls between the ages of 9 and 15. Furthermore, testing on males has not yet been completed. As such, it is very likely that the HPV strain-specific vaccine has not been tested on a study group that could render fully accurate predictions about the effect of the HPV vaccine on pre-pubescent American children or on girls who have not otherwise fully matured. As such, it seems rather obvious that you should not be using children as ‘guinea pigs’ with respect to their reproductive health. If you must use this mass experiment with Gardisil as a way of dealing with HPV, our stated concerns about the scope of information provided to parents are all the more obvious."

PFLC president, Rich Ackerman testified to the Committee that, "I will not allow my daughter to be a guinea pig for the state.  As a parent, I am entitled to full disclosure as to the risks presented by this vaccine that has only been out on the market for a year."

Ackerman further states, "I am so incredibly happy that California's pro-family organizations were able to come together as a cohesive unit and find a way to reach both sides of the political aisle on parents' rights, informed consent rights, and patient/child safety issues.  We still have a voice in government and it was heard in unison today."  PFLC's analyses can be found at www.profamilylawcenter.com.