HB358 would have given the Utah Department of Health $1 million to educate females about cervical cancer and immunize girls and young women against it with the new Gardasil vaccine.
Bill sponsor Rep. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, said she thought the bill would pass out of the House Health and Human Services Committee.
"Many people are afraid of something new," she said. "I think these are individuals who are against immunization altogether. But this is the first vaccine to protect against cancer."
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Gardasil, made by Merck, in June of last year, recommending it for females ages 9 to 26. Gardasil is given as three injections over a six-month period and costs about $400 out-of-pocket.
Many health providers hailed it as a major advancement because it is the first vaccine designed to prevent human papillomavirus, which is sexually transmitted and can cause genital warts and cervical cancer. Last week, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated. At least 18 states are considering such a move, according to The Associated Press.
Morgan wanted Utah to help pay for the vaccine for girls and young women whose insurance companies don't cover it.
Critics have said it is too early to know if Gardasil is effective and question whether it might lead to increased promiscuity among adolescents.
Several members of the committee said they were deluged by e-mails opposing Morgan's bill. Some raised moral objections; others disagree with vaccines in general, believing they cause more harm than good.
During the hearing, Rep. D. Gregg Buxton, R-Roy, said he has received many e-mails condemning the vaccine and saying it is unproven. Morgan countered by saying the clinical trials were successful enough to convince the FDA to approve it.
Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland, asked how a person contracts the virus, then asked why the state would promote the vaccine for a pharmaceutical company.
"Why can't they promote it themselves?" he inquired. "Why do we need a million dollar appropriation to promote it for them?"
Merck has been lobbying the nonprofit, bipartisan group Women In Government to require the vaccine. Morgan is a member of the organization, which comprises women state legislators who work together on public policy issues.
Morgan received a $200 campaign contribution from Merck in September. She was one of 31 Utah lawmakers last year to get money from Merck, ranging from $100 to $500.
At one point Tuesday, it appeared that the bill might pass with an amendment that stripped all money for vaccinations but left the educational campaign intact.
Despite that change, Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum, said she was uncomfortable with a campaign that might target girls as young as 9.
"Does [the campaign] teach them about abstinence before marriage and fidelity after marriage?" she said.
Karen Zempolich, a gynecologic oncologist who worked on the Gardasil clinical trial at Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, has encouraged parents to consider the vaccine, saying she is tired of seeing women die from cervical cancer. One of the saddest scenarios, she has said, is women unknowingly contracting the virus from unfaithful boyfriends or husbands.
Federal health officials estimate that about 75 percent of American women eventually contract the virus.
As for women who acquire the virus out of wedlock, Morgan said: "Just because a young woman contracts the virus does not mean she should die. If we educate them, it could lead to more abstinence."
Leslie Dalton, health commissioner with Utah PTA, supported the bill.
"Personally, my daughter is 12 years old and her doctor has talked to us about this," she said, adding that her insurance company doesn't cover the vaccine. "We were waiting to see what happened [with the state], but it's so important we'll" pay out-of-pocket for it if there's no other choice.
The Utah Scientific Vaccine Advisory Committee, a health department committee of public and private health care workers and providers, sets student vaccine requirements and has no plans right now to follow Texas' mandate lead.
chamilton@sltrib.com
