Dartmouth’s Diane Harper has been outspoken about Gardasil for quite some time. You can read her remarks from last year right here…

http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/03/gardasil_researchers_in_their/

And here’s something from Merck’s Maggie McGlynn on the lobbying…

http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/10/merck-exec-mandating-gardasil-wasnt-a-strategy/

And here’s some background on the effect the lobbying had…

http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/03/maine_lawmaker_exits_women_in/

Cheers
ed

As an interesting political twist, in Michigan, as in many other states, it was mainly the liberal, Democratics in the stae legislature who were pushing for mandating the vaccine. The opposition came largely from “social issue” and libertarian conservatives who were concerned, among other things, with impact on teen sexuality as well as parental/individual rights.

Personally, I found myself allied with the side that I am normally not (they also have been many of those who have defended our 12-year preempion law which 70% of voters reject). Mandated vaccination came within, literally, minutes of passing in the state legislature. The vote was postponed mainly for technical reasons.

When the legislature reconvened, a few months later, things looked somewhat differently.

“Merck lobbied every opinion leader, women’s group, medical society, politicians, and went directly to the people — it created a sense of panic that says you have to have this vaccine now.”
Dr. Diane Harper, a professor of medicine at Dartmouth Medical School