Not surprisingly, some lawmakers are balking over Gov. Rick Perry’s stealthy move last week to mandate Merck’s Gardasil HPV vaccine for school-age girls as young as 9 years old.

“I don’t think the government should ever presume to know better than the parents what to do with children,” said, Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, according to a report in The Houston Chronicle.

Perry defended his decision by insisting the mandate won’t promise sexual promiscuity, a worry of conservatives. But his credibility is being questioned by reports that he has ties, direct and indirect, to Merck, which is lobbying hard across the country for similar state mandates.

The larger issue, of course, is whether the vaccine is safe and effective and, therefore, appropriate. On the other hand, parental concerns should be respected, which is why allowing exemptions, as Texas does for religious reasons, for example, makes sense.

The overriding public policy concern here is finding the best way to promote good public health. Unfortunately, any number of state lawmakers may also benefit from industry support as they debate and promote the vaccine issue. That kind of bonus doesn’t spawn confidence that the right thing is being done for the right reason. But there’s no vaccine for that.

[tags]Gardasil, HPV, Merck, Texas[/tags]