Amity Shlaes, Columnist

What Republicans Talk About When They Talk About HPV: Amity Shlaes

September 20, 2011 at 2:52 PM UTC

Amity Shlaes, chairman of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, is the author of "Great Society" and co-editor, with Matthew Denhart, of a new edition of Coolidge's autobiography.

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Republicans can't stop talking about the vaccine for human papilloma virus. Governor Rick Perry of Texas, a presidential candidate, is under fire for having issued an executive order in 2007 that allowed his health commissioner to mandate inoculation against the virus for girls entering sixth grade.

Since HPV can lead to cancer, Perry thought he was saving lives. Some critics charged he was infringing on parents' rights with his rule. One of his opponents, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, even quoted a mother who alleged her child suffered brain damage from the vaccine, suggesting the dispute was about safety. That claim has served for debunking fodder for a week now.