Last night at the gym I read a pro/con article in a magazine on the HPV vaccine.

This drug is the most controversial vaccine to hit the market in decades, but the real reason it's so talked about is because of who it's meant for. Gardasil is being marketed for girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26. At least 4 provinces, to date, have brought in programs providing the drug so school-aged girls can be vaccinated. Saskatchewan is not on board yet. The drug is being touted as a prevention method against strains of HPV, a virus that can lead to cervical cancer.

So this article had doctors on both sides talking about this issue. And then this morning I see a letter to the editor in the Star Phoenix talking about the same thing. People are worried the vaccine may lead to promiscuity in young girls, or a false sense of security against STDs. I call bunk on that one. Without the media attention on this vaccine, hardly any girls would know HPV existed. Now, girls are aware of yet another illness that can strike from unprotected sex.

Long term effects have not been proven. But that's the case with a lot of vaccines. Weighing out risk of getting cervical cancer:

When it comes to weighing out risks and being comfortable with a relatively new vaccine, that's something parents and young women can decide for themselves. But when it comes to predicting the vaccine will lead to a whole lot more underage sex, I don't buy it. If anything, a program showing that you can get something called HPV and maybe die from cervical cancer would prove a better proponant for abstinence.