Fortnight of Films for the Fortnight for Freedom, day 2

I said most of what I had to say yesterday, so I've been keeping a few items to post daily during the Fortnight for Freedom. Use them for reflection, prayer, or as an idea for service or sacrifice toward our goal of truth, mutual respect, and religious liberty.

Now that we’re officially into the Fortnight for Freedom, it’s appropriate to reflect on how the themes of religious liberty, moral conscience and commitment to one’s faith in the face of pressure and persecution have been reflected in film.

National Catholic Register film critic Steven D. Greydanus has chosen a fortnight of worth films providentially accompanying the saint's days we will mark within these two weeks, making a perfect complement to your Fortnight of Freedom plans.

June 21: A Man for All Seasons (1966)

The Fortnight for Freedom begins on the eve of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More. The best possible film to begin the fortnight is Fred Zinnemann’s magnificent cinematic tribute to Thomas More, one of the 45 films of the Vatican film list. King Henry VIII declares “war on the Church,” obliging More — out of fidelity to his conscience regarding the institution of marriage as well as the Petrine primacy — to retire from public life. Over the next several years, he adheres to his principles and defends himself ably, but ultimately futilely, in the face of legal harassment, imprisonment and execution.

(Fine for all ages, but young kids won’t follow the story.)

I implicitly trust Steven D. Greydanus to recommend great lists of films, especially when it comes to connecting them with the faith.

His list includes the expected such as A Man for All Seasons and Becket. However, he also goes a bit further afield with movies you might not have thought of such as On the Waterfront. See the list here.

As a bonus, the article has links to the 1995 Vatican film list and the Register's list of 100 pro-Catholic movies, so you can do more exploring on your own.

A movie a day, connected with a saint. Perfect.

Resource: Catechism Class is Like Spark Notes for Catholic Books

Y'all know that I'm all about book reviews. But there is another way to evaluate a great many Catholic books.

We realize that the vast majority of Catholics want to read classic and contemporary Catholic books but due to time constraints, they are able to actually only read a small number of them. We have responded to this need by summarizing (not reviewing so that customers get the author's views and not our opinions) many great Catholic books.

Catechism Class has a really extensive list of books that they've done thorough reviews for. And when I say thorough, I ain't just a whistlin' Dixie.

I was stunned at how thorough the samples were. Not only an overall summary, but also a summary for every chapter. This is truly the way to quickly get the sense of a book that you need to evaluate before purchasing or cover for some reason but don't have time to read.

Cathechism Class describes their summaries here and has a list of books covered here. As a bonus, I asked them to provide a sample pdf of a representative book so that you could see for yourselves how thorough these are. They generously came forth with Scott Hahn's Hail Holy Queen.

Give it a try and check out their site.

OSV's Catholic Guide to the Internet — Readers' choice edition

This is a wonderful resource.

Also, I am made very happy by The Anchoress's generous recommendation of Happy Catholic.

This is another soul-stirrer. The site is run by a woman who seems to breathe in books and art, and she has a remarkable capacity for zeroing in on one sentence and bringing it to the fore, for the benefit of many. The site has pop culture, jokes, thoughtful meditations, cues to prayer — it is a dynamic portrait of a life lived — Happily Catholic.

I am looking around to see where that woman is she mentioned ...

I am also surprised by the fact that no one mentioned The Anchoress herself. I am not a fan of political considerations but no one presents them with greater clarity or charity than she does. More than that, I find great inspiration in her meditations upon faith and how to live it. Great inspiration indeed.

Vocation Boom!

This is hosted at YouTube but comes from a great new site, Vocation Boom! It is designed to encourage and nurture vocations to the priesthood and you can see that they understand what they're talking about. For instance, I found their piece on what it really means to be a priest to be very inspirational personally in that it reminded me of how thankful I am that Jesus gives us priests ... here's a bit:

A Catholic priest is a man who has been called by God to live in persona Christi – in the person of Christ. In simple terms, that means that when man is ordained a priest, he receives a permanent mark on his soul – similar to the mark we all receive at baptism – that changes him forever and makes it possible for him to perform certain actions that otherwise only Jesus could perform. A priest’s primary purpose is to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass, and to feed God’s people with the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, which the Church has always understood to be the main way that Christ’s death on the Cross is made available to people. Only a validly ordained priest can give this great gift to the world.

What this means is truly amazing. Because of the gift of holy orders – the priesthood – a man’s very soul is changed and he is made like Jesus in a way that someone who is not ordained can never experience. Jesus is God. And, as God, He is able to share His power with those men he calls to the priesthood, allowing them to do for God’s people what Jesus Himself does: feed us with His Body and Blood, forgive our sins, and more. ...

I also really liked their gallery which has gathered some excellent videos and links for easy viewing (for example, I see that my favorite Diocese of Paris video is included). Of course, my favorite is the video above which was created especially for this website right here in Dallas. I actually know two of the young men who are pursuing vocations as priests as they are from our parish.

There is much more there for anyone interested in pursuing or encouraging a vocation. A couple of the spots are awaiting info but I know that this site launched just this week so they probably will be filling in those gaps soon.

Check it out. Send the link to anyone you know who may need a bit of encouragement.

This is a good reminder for us also to pray for many men to hear the quiet whisper of God's call so that they respond "Here I am. I pray that we will have a Vocation Boom in the priesthood thanks to efforts like this helping show the way.

Update
I completely forgot to mention that I also know the very talented designer who designed the site. (Ahem, that would be because Tom did the website layout for him.) He's good. Very good. And I don't throw around those terms lightly when speaking of design, believe me.

Just a comment also to say that my inside track on this isn't what makes me so interested in it. Frankly, after hearing all the behind the scenes discussions and work that goes into something, I am usually pretty tired of hearing about it by the time we see the final product. Vocation Boom surprised me because it came together to transcend all the pieces that went into it (also the sign of a good design). And, of course, it is about something I am passionately interested in ... as a Happy Catholic!

A Place to Report Email Spam Related to Child Pornography

A reader was good enough to alert me that there actually is a place where you can report email spam related to child pornography.

I get a LOT of spam on my work email account -- they use Yahoo business service. Too many of them are porn spam.

But this evening I received a spam advertising Web sites for child pornography. I won't go into details of what it pitched, but it listed 5 Web sites with Russian domains.

I was so disturbed by this, I couldn't just delete it (which I do with the rest of the spam). After some research, I discovered that it is possible to report cases on even email spam related to child pornography.

In case anyone else might receive this kind of spam, I thought it would be good to at least let them know it can be reported.

The CyberTip line of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children will collect reports of child pornography spam.

I applaud this reader's initiative. I am fortunate enough to not have this sort of thing coming through our email filters but I know it is an increasing problem so am happy to be able to tell about this resource.

Internet? I Don't Need No Stinkin' Internet!*

2008 Catholic Almanac

How many priests are there in Libya?
16.

Thomas J. Olmsted's birthday?
Jan. 21, 1947.
(Who the heck is he? The bishop of Phoenix.)

What does the word "apologetics" really mean?
The science and art of developing and presenting the case for the reasonableness of the Christian faith, by a wide variety of means including facts of experience, history, science, philosophy. The constant objective of apologetics, as well as of the total process of pre-evangelization, is preparation for response to God in faith; its ways and mean,s however, are subject to change in accordance with the various needs of people and different sets of circumstances.

Which decisions by the Supreme Court have had an effect on religion in the United States?

The answer to that one is too lengthy to report here but if you, too, had your copy of the 2008 Catholic Almanac from Our Sunday Visitor then it would be a snap to answer. It makes deeply interesting reading as well.

I have to admit that when I pulled this out of a box of books that Our Sunday Visitor sent me, I had to laugh. The idea of a Catholic almanac seemed ludicrous. However, leafing through it soon shut my mouth. Intending to spend a few minutes looking it over, I looked up to find I had spent more than an hour going through from beginning to end, marveling at the wealth of information at my fingertips. I recognized the simple truth of the review printed on the back cover:

Our Sunday Visitor claims this work is the one and only Catholic resource, and simply the best annual guide to the Catholic Church anywhere. These are bold statements, but accurate--- This excellent work is especially useful for those interested in either the Roman Catholic Church or the Holy See--- It is informative, easy to use, and well written. --American Reference Books Manual

Probably of the most interest to those who have previous years' editions will be the first section which covers news and events from the past year including papal trips, papal documents and announcements, and special reports from international and national news. However, for the rest of us who might need an overall resource other sections contain not only the statistics one might expect but key information about the teachings and doctrine of the Church, summaries of Church history, details about saints canonized during the previous year, a chronology of U.S. Catholic history, descriptions of Eastern churches (both Catholic and Orthodox) and much more.

Truly this is one place that you don't need an internet connection to have the basics about the Catholic Church ready to hand at a moment's notice. Highly recommended.

*With apologies to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
(Cross--posted at Catholic Media Review.)

Did You Want a Twist of Faith in That Science Fiction?

My recent reviews of Infinite Space, Infinite God and Seven Archangels: Annihilation made me remember a few other books of that category which also give us food for reflection about faith. You can find my reviews here:

• Auralia's Colors
• Game of Fox and Lion
• Eifelheim
• the Odd Thomas series

Here is an ongoing conversation about science fiction with a Catholic twist and this is an interesting list of books which are explicitly "Christian", have Christian characters, or deal with Christian themes, have been recommended by at least ten members of Christian Fandom

I know there was a fairly comprehensive list with comments about how the faith was portrayed at a Catholic science fiction blog somewhere in the past ... but I couldn't find it. I bet someone out there knows (the Curt Jester? Scott Danielson?).

Update

• Speculative Catholic's list ... that was it! This one is great because it has comments about the books. Thanks Jeff!
• Another list ... from Scott Danielson.

Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum on the "Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970"

For all your Motu Proprio news ... these spots have links to the document, the English translation pdf, and those learned souls who have read and are commenting. Eventually I will get to it, I am sure, however, I still haven't finished reading the Holy Father's letter to China which interests me much more than the Latin Mass. By which you can tell that we have a wonderfully respectful and "traditional" Novus Ordo in our parish.

Deacon Greg offers us the Spark Notes (that's like Cliff Notes for those of us of a "certain age" ... ahem) on the subject

Father Z. who gives us the text and his comments about the intro. There is much more by now at his place so check out all the posts.

The Curt Jester has links and commentary.

Dom has a roundup of reaction

Father Jim at Dappled Things has his own comments as well as some links.

Reading: 5 Practical Skills

As a voracious reader it never occurred to me that a guideline to reading would be necessary. Even when there was that great series of ads about reading that featured tips about reading, I read someone's guidelines about skimming (maybe it was Bill Cosby?) and already was way ahead of them on the technique.

However, for those to whom reading doesn't come quite as easily, there now is a very handy guide from Nick Senger at Literary Compass called ROMAN Reading: 5 Practical Skills for Transforming Your Life through Literature. This is a free e-book that can be downloaded as a pdf. It is simply but attractively formatted and has some very good ideas to improve reading habits. (Ok, I will probably never do the outlining idea, but it is an idea worth knowing about should one be doing a more serious study of a book than I tend toward).

He also has set up a blog devoted to ROMAN Reading that is worth checking out.

Here is a bit of one of the tips ... and yes, I already did everything in here but I had to figure it out for myself. You have this handy guide to help you along.

Here are five ways to improve marking in books:

1. Use a pen, not a highlighter. You can't write words or sentences with a highlighter, they're too thick. As I mentioned in ROMAN Reading, my preferred pen is the green Sanford Uniball with the microfine point.
2. Use the white spaces. Those empty spaces on the title pages and at the beginning and end of chapters are perfect for recording notes, outlines, summaries and various thoughts about what you're reading.
3. Use symbols and shortcuts. Try using an exclamation mark (!), asterisk (*) or question mark (?) in the margin to save time.
4. Mark entire paragraphs with brackets. If you want to mark an entire paragraph, don't underline the whole thing, just draw a bracket or a set of vertical lines along the side. That way you can still circle certain words or phrases within the paragraph.
   
5. Don't overmark! One reason to mark a book is to be able to find things again. If the entire book ends up being green, you've defeated the purpose.

Science Fiction and Faith LInks

It occurred to me that the ongoing listing of great sci-fi and fantasy novels with links to faith was sometime ago (as the blogosphere counts it anyway). Here are some wonderful resources. If anyone has any others I'll add them to the list.

• Speculative Catholic has a very good list of Catholicism in Science Fiction at The Catholic Wiki Project
• Elliott has a great series of discussions about science fiction, fantasy, and faith wherein he discusses different authors. It begins at the link and you can follow it from there.

Looking for Truth and Finding the Church: Two Conversion Stories

So as far as I can remember, I have always “known” that Catholics were in a false religion that was leading them straight to Hell as Catholics did not rely on Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

I wish I never had to repeat this because it is so painful and tragic, but it is true and indicative of how lost I thought the Church was. When both Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II died, I was saddened and I thought “Now they know they were wrong.” Forgive me Father.

You wouldn't believe that anyone could go from this to wearing a huge grin because she was confirmed in the Church last weekend. But people, and the way that God leads them, are endlessly surprising. This is a fascinating story about a family that converted from The Church of the Nazarene to Catholicism. It was especially interesting to me since I had a good friend in high school who was a member of The Church of the Nazarene and I went with her for about two years.

I found this fascinating in that they had anti-Catholicism drilled into them (if any Catholics were Christians it was in spite of being Catholic) and yet the woman had enough of a quest for truth to move beyond it and read herself into the church (and argue her husband there with her). I love someone who just won't quit looking until they have found the truthful answers to their questions. Her reading list is one that will be a good resource to anyone who wants to help Protestant friends who are looking into crossing the Tiber.

A few years later, a friend of mine became a Catholic. He’d grown up mostly Baptist, Reformed, or Reformed Baptist and had had his share of struggling with his faith. His family was mostly Baptist and his father worked at the school with me, so it was a pretty big shock. For many of his “Christian” friends, it meant that he’d abandoned his faith and was no better than a heretic or non-Christian. I wanted to give him, if not the benefit of the doubt, then at least some room to discuss why he’d chosen this spiritual route. Rather than just abandoning him because he’d “fallen away.”

That meant I needed to put away my anti-Catholic preconceptions and take a new look at what it was he said he believed. Which meant looking at what the Catholic Church says it teaches. Not what nominal Catholics believe or what I see in movies or hear antagonists say about it, but what the Catholic Church officially teaches. If you’re going to learn about a belief system, it’s a good idea to start with their own official teachings. THEN you can evaluate whether or not you think them credible or worthwhile. But you certainly can’t make an unbiased decision when your only information sources are biased against them.

I have never seen such a thorough, planned study as the one that Coffee Klatch outlines in this story. Just reading his list of items to research wore me out. Thank heavens I was into much more basic wrestling when I converted. I'd never have finished the reading. What makes this so interesting to me (besides the fact that any conversion story is an interesting story) is that one by one we are given the reasons why Scripture itself refutes anti-Catholic arguments. The author doesn't always specifically spell out all the Protestant beliefs that his studies refuted, however, to anyone who is used to the basic sort of arguments, it is very clear. Not only is this inspiring but it is a wonderful resource as well. (Note: apologies to Scott ... obviously I hadn't come across his name and so was writing "her" when it should have been "him.")

Inspiration Resources 7 & 8

A series of good resources to try out for inspiration and formation (it begins here as well as a description of my inspiration for the series).

INSPIRATION
Maced with Grace
Specifically, I am recommending Hey Jules' way with connecting photography and her faith. She isn't Catholic but she isn't focusing on anything denominational. Rather she looks at the world around her and finds God ... which often starts with her photographs and musings.

INSTRUCTION
10 Best Books for New Catholics
Literary Compass has a very good list of basic books that I think are good not only for new Catholics but for any Catholics. Sometimes we need to get back to the basics in order to remember why we are Christians and Catholics in the first place.

* Unless otherwise mentioned, any podcasts or audio can be downloaded to your computer (using the right click mouse button) and listened to there or burned to a CD if you don't have a mp3 player. I mention iTunes because that is what I use, however most of these also can be found through other podcatchers (usually mentioned on their sites).

Inspiration Resources #5 & 6

A series of good resources to try out for inspiration and formation (it begins here as well as a description of my inspiration for the series).

INSPIRATION
Jeremiah, Tell Me 'Bout the Fire
This video is only about five minutes long but packs a punch whenever I watch it (and I'm not just saying that because Rose created it).

INSTRUCTION
Understanding the Scriptures*
As the instructor in this Scripture study says, it sucks the fog out of understanding the New Testament by showing how integrally it is linked to the Old Testament. Going through the Bible book by book, following Scott Hahn's "Understanding the Scriptures" book, this class is perfect for anyone who can't make it to a regular Scripture study ... or, as in my case, also perfect even for those who do make it to a regular study. Just listening to Lesson 10 as I did this morning uncovered so many ways that Mary is shown by Luke to be the Ark of the Covenant that I never had heard of before. A really good resource.

* Unless otherwise mentioned, any podcasts or audio can be downloaded to your computer (using the right click mouse button) and listened to there or burned to a CD if you don't have a mp3 player. I mention iTunes because that is what I use, however most of these also can be found through other podcatchers (usually mentioned on their sites).

Inspiration Resources #3 & 4

A series of good resources to try out for inspiration and formation (1 & 2 are here as well as a description of my inspiration for the series).

INSPIRATION
Praying With the Church: A Catholic Podcast*
This podcast's self-description is exactly right: recordings of the Catholic faith as well as discussion and meditation on those prayers and prayer in general. The thing I like about this podcast is that each prayer is recorded separately with meditative music behind it. A follow-up episode features that prayer and a brief discussion of origin and explanation. I am leaving the separate prayers on my iPod in a prayer playlist. Maybe I will finally memorize The Act of Contrition this way!

INSTRUCTION
Into the Deep*
It is a conversation between three Catholic men about various methods of growing closer to God. I love these guys. They are humble and sincere in their desire to be closer to God, while at the same time being honest enough about real life that they spend some of the time laughing at their own foibles (and that makes me laugh and recognize my own foibles too). In their own words:

Into The Deep is a podcast designed to be a resource to those who wish to spread the saving message of Jesus Christ as faithfully transmitted by the Church. This means that it is applicable to every Baptized Christian, as we all share a common commission to evangelize the world.

I have almost all of their episodes (I am always one or two behind). They tend to work in series of discussions which is helpful for those desirous of focusing on subjects such as prayer or humility. As these three men are Catholics there are various mentions of such things as the rosary but overall these podcasts would help any Christian desirous of strengthening their prayer life and their relationship with God.

Their blog also is good as they don't stop at simply posting info and links about their podcast. They keep it lively with writing on other subjects that catch their eye in living the faith.

* Unless otherwise mentioned, any podcasts or audio can be downloaded to your computer (using the right click mouse button) and listened to there or burned to a CD if you don't have a mp3 player. I mention iTunes because that is what I use, however most of these also can be found through other podcatchers (usually mentioned on their sites).

Resources 5 & 6: here.

Inspiration Resources #1 & 2

A friend was lamenting recently that she missed the inspiration available during our CRHP team formation. Nothing quite matches those days but I am going to be running a series of good resources to try out for inspiration and formation.

This will be podcast heavy because I am thinking of my friend who is works in a law office, lives far from her home, and has two adorable little ones to keep her busy (joyfully busy, I will add) the rest of the time. However, I will feature other types of resources also.

INSPIRATION
Meditations from Carmel*
A podcast with episodes between one and four minutes long. Each has soothing sounds of quiet music in the background while a contemplative voice reads the meditation from a Carmelite saint. Several of these hit me just right and I'm going to keep them on my iPod for those stressed out moments when I need a good reminder of where the "center" is.

INSTRUCTION
Peter Kreeft
Yes, I wrote about him recently but want to mention him again here. Catholic convert and professor of philosophy at Boston College, Kreeft uses logic and humor to talk about God, the Church, and many other topics helpful to Christians trying to keep the faith in modern times (his writing on modern philosophers is especially good). This post lists his books which had the biggest influence on me.

You can download audio of his talks* or subscribe through iTunes (search for www.peterkreeft.com). His site also has some of his featured writing as well as additional pieces here.

* Unless otherwise mentioned, any podcasts or audio can be downloaded to your computer (using the right click mouse button) and listened to there or burned to a CD if you don't have a mp3 player. I mention iTunes because that is what I use, however most of these also can be found through other podcatchers (usually mentioned on their sites).

Resources 3 & 4: here.

Sharing the Mirth

Too, too funny. Find more at Inherit the Mirth.

Great Firewall of China, Batman!

My URL is blocked from being read in China. Of course, with "Catholic" in the name, I'd kind of expect it.

Here is where you can test your URL.

Via WardWideWeb where Ma and Pa Beck are head-over-heels in love with their new baby who is a real cutie.

Inherit the Mirth

These cards are hilarious ... check out Inherit the Mirth's store.

HPV Vaccine: Medical Cost versus Benefit Modeling

This was too good to leave in my comments box. Thanks to the commenter for leaving this comprehensive information which is a post in itself.

In medical cost vs. benefit modeling (which strongly informs national medical public policy making and far too strongly informs the medical policies of HMOs), the most critical component is a value called "cost per life year gained."

If the cost per life year gained is under $50,000, that is generally considered a decent investment by US medical policy makers. If "cost per life year" gained is over $100,000, that is generally considered a wasteful medical policy because that money could surely be put to much better use elsewhere. Yes, this is cruel and heartless to some degree, but wide scale medical cost allocations do need to be made and, more relevantly, are continually made using these cost plus risk vs. benefit analyses. Think HMOs. Now consider why pap smears, blood tests and urine tests aren't recommended every month for everyone. Testing monthly could definitely save more than a few lives, and there is no measurable associated medical risk. But the cost would be astronomical versus the benefit over the entire US population when comparing these monthly tests to other therapies, procedures and medicines.

Now on to GARDASIL. By the time you pay doctors a small fee to inventory and deliver GARDASIL in three doses, you are talking about paying about $500 for this vaccine. And because even in the best case scenario GARDASIL can confer protection against only 70% of cervical cancer cases, GARDASIL cannot ever obsolete the HPV screening test that today is a major component of most US women's annually recommended pap smears. These tests screen for 36 nasty strains of HPV, while GARDASIL confers protection against just four strains of HPV.

Now let's consider GARDASIL's best case scenario at the moment -- about $500 per vaccine, 100% lifetime protection against all four HPV strains (we currently have no evidence for any protection over five years), and no risk of any medical complications for any subset of the population (Merck's GARADSIL studies were too small and short to make this determination for adults, these studies used potentially dangerous alum injections as their "placebo control" and GARDASIL was hardly even tested on little kids). Now, using these best case scenario assumptions for GARDASIL, let's compare the projected situation of a woman who gets a yearly HPV screening test starting at age 18 to a woman who gets a yearly HPV screening test starting at age 18 plus the three GARDASIL injections at age 11 to 12. Even if you include all of the potential medical cost savings from the projected reduction in genital wart and HPV dysplasia removal procedures and expensive cervical cancer procedures, medicines and therapies plus all of the indirect medical costs associated with all these ailments and net all of these savings against GARDASIL's costs, the best case numbers for these analyses come out to well over $200,000 per life year gained -- no matter how far the hopeful pro-GARDASIL assumptions that underpin these projections are tweaked in GARDASIL's favor.

Several studies have been done, and they have been published in several prestigious medical journals:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.290.6.781
http://tinyurl.com/2ovy95
http://tinyurl.com/2tbuma

None of these studies even so much as consider a strategy of GARDASIL plus a regimen of annual HPV screenings starting at age 18 to be worth mentioning (except to note how ridiculously expensive this would be compared to other currently recommended life extending procedures, medicines and therapies) because the cost per life year gained is simply far too high. What these studies instead show is that a regimen of GARDASIL plus delayed (to age 21, 22, 23, 25 or 27) biennial or triennial HPV screening tests may -- depending on what hopeful assumptions about GARDASIL's long term efficacy and risks are used -- hopefully result in a modest cost per life year savings compared to annual HPV screening tests starting at age 18.

If you don't believe me about this, just ask any responsible OB-GYN or medical model expert. Now, why do I think all of this is problematic?

1) Nobody is coming clean (except to the small segment of the US population that understands medical modeling) that the push for widespread mandatory HPV vaccination is based on assuming that we can use the partial protection against cervical cancer that these vaccines hopefully confer for hopefully a long, long time period to back off from recommending annual HPV screening tests starting at age 18 -- in order to save money, not lives.

2) Even in the best case scenario, the net effect is to give billions in tax dollars to Merck so HMOs and PPOs can save billions on HPV screening tests in the future.

3) These studies don't consider any potential costs associated with any potential GARDASIL risks. Even the slightest direct or indirect medical costs associated with any potential GARDASIL risks increase the cost per life year gained TREMENDOUSLY and can even easily change the entire analysis to cost per life year lost. Remember that unlike most medicines and therapies, vaccines are administered to a huge number of otherwise healthy people -- and, at least in this case, 99.99% of whom would never contract cervical cancer even without its protection.

4) These studies don't take in account the fact that better and more regular HPV screening tests have reduced the US cervical cancer rate by about 25% a decade over the last three decades and that there is no reason to believe that this trend would not continue in the future, especially if we used a small portion of the money we are planning on spending on GARDASIL to promote free annual HPV screening tests for all low income uninsured US women.

5) The studies assume that any constant cervical cancer death rate (rather than the downward trending cervical cancer death rate we have today) that results in a reduced cost per life year gained equates to sound medical public policy.

As I said before, if any of you don't believe me about this, please simply ask your OB-GYN how the $500 cost of GARDASIL can be justified on a cost per life year gained basis if we don't delay the onset of HPV screening tests and back off from annual HPV screening tests to biennial or triennial HPV screening tests.

The recommendations are already in: http://tinyurl.com/33p9q6

The USPSTF strongly recommends ... beginning screening within 3 years of onset of sexual activity or age 21 (whichever comes first) and screening at least every 3 years ...

I Never Thought I'd Be a Conscientious Objecter

Updated resources below.

*Alliance Teacher: And now, everyone can enjoy enlightenment and the comfort of true civilization....

Pupil: Why were the Independents even fighting us? Why weren't they looking to be more civilized?

Alliance Teacher: So with so much social and medical advances we can bring to the Independents, why would they fight so hard against us?

River: We meddle.

Alliance Teacher: River?

River: People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think. Don't run. Don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome.

Alliance Teacher: River, we're not telling people what to think. We're just trying to show them how. (Stabs River in the forehead with pen)

Serenity

In my cowardly way I always was secretly relieved that my girls were too old for me to have to worry about what to do when I heard about certain vaccines for children that were made using aborted babies (ugh!).

However, here comes a different vaccine with different issues attached ... that requires us to take a stand.

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry – usually a hero to social conservatives – surprised many of them Friday by making Texas the first state to mandate a vaccine for sixth-grade girls to prevent a sexually transmitted infection that leads to most kinds of cervical cancer.

Dallas Morning News (free registration required)

It so happens that not too long ago I had printed out Catholic Medical Weekly's evenhanded and informative article about this virus. I even read various portions aloud to Tom and Rose, with this being the money quote for us. (I have edited the layout to make it easier to read.)

Why isn’t it a swell idea?

First. The vaccine does not remove the need for Pap smears nor will it do anything for a lady already infected.

Second, it doesn’t do anything about other sexually transmitted diseases, although it’s easy to imagine a 12 year old (remember, that’s the target audience) who thinks it does. For that matter, I can easily imagine a 20 year old who might think it does, but that’s neither here nor there.

Thirdly, there are concerns that the FDA has "fast-tracked" licensure of Gardasil, without adequate study of its safety in little girls.[5]

Fourth, and most importantly, no one knows what effect universal vaccination of 9 year olds might have on adolescent tendency to have sex. However, the data of the past forty years of social experimentation suggest that it would tend to increase sexual activity. That’s been the outcome of all the other experiments on early immersion of young children into the fetid world of “sex ed” and teenage contraception, and there’s no reason this should have a different effect.

Regarding the morality of the vaccine itself, its manufacture does not involve aborted babies[6]. So the moral problems attached to, say varicella or rubella vaccines do not apply here.

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease. You don’t get it if the person next to you coughs, and you don’t get it from a water fountain or a toilet seat. Requiring HPV immunizations for young girls (and that is what ACIP “recommendations” amount to: requirements) is, in my view, no different from requiring that all school age girls be put on contraception....

I encourage anyone with daughters to go read the full article as it gives very good information about the vaccine and the issues involved. No matter what your thoughts on the main issues it is important to be fully informed when you make decisions about this vaccine.

It is important to keep in mind also, that although this vaccine is being trumpeted as the answer to avoiding cervical cancer, it is vital to recognize what it really does. The vaccine may reduce the incidence of infection with the HPV virus and does not necessarily prevent cervical cancer.

I have had grave misgivings from the time that the FDA changed policies to allow fast tracking of drug clearances and this just seems to prove my point. Our society at this time seems to be governed by knee-jerk reactions and policy mandates made based on public opinion and incomplete research. I object on those grounds, much less on those outlined in CMW's article.

I am not sure whether this requirement will be imposed as a retroactive measure on girls over the age of 12 such as my own high school and college age daughters. Governor Perry does allow an "out" for objectors.

In his executive order, Mr. Perry said girls must receive the human papillomavirus vaccine before school starts in September 2008. While noting that parents may opt out of the vaccine for conscience or religious reasons, he said it "provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer."

Dallas Morning News

Talking about the legislation yesterday, I told Rose that I do object. Without missing a beat she said, "I don't need you to object. I object on my own behalf. They can forget it." (A proud mom moment there.) I will be sending article links on to Hannah so she can see the facts behind the spin.

* I knew I was missing some TV quote to set this whole post off ... and just couldn't think of which one. Thanks to Tim for stepping up on this one!

UPDATE - way more than you wanted to know about what I was thinking

A good friend challenged me on some of the material and also was surprised that one of the reasons I didn't like the idea of the vaccine was the possibility of the effect on adolescents' tendency to have sex (as mentioned in the excerpt above).

I guess I should have qualified it more ... mostly because I hear through Hannah and Rose how much misinformation they are told by friends "is absolutely true" and most of the time it is about half-true if that.

So I looked at this and thought of the girls who come into their freshman year of high school pregnant because "everybody knows" that you can't get pregnant when you're on the pill or using condoms or without full penetration ... or whatever the myth is that they've been told. And this just looked like a silver bullet for people to start saying that it works on all STDs.

Another objection of mine is the money trail from Merck to Perry mentioned in the DMN article, but I didn't get into that ...

It also annoys the heck out of me that one of Perry's main justifications was "but I talked to my wife about it" .... does she think with her ovaries? And is he unable to think on this issue because he doesn't have any? Sheez! (Don't blame me, I voted for "one tough grandma!")

Also I guess that I was responding to my extreme dislike recently of having a "nanny" government mentality everywhere. Cities than ban transfats, people who want to ban smoking in all public places in Texas, etc. I just saw this as one more thing that "the man" is sticking to us. It comes down to trusting us to make intelligent decisions ourselves ... OR letting us choose how to go to hell in our own way.

Talking to the girls about "the old days" when I was growing up I also have seen the contrast between "live-and-let-live" back then and an extremely narrow-minded, intolerant judgement meted out by individuals and governments. So I react to that as well ...

However, I didn't feel like writing about it that way. Lazy ya know.

Actually it was good that my friend pushed me on this because I went looking for more information and found 10 things you might not know about Gardasil (see Other Resources above for the link). Interesting if for no other reason than giving us other questions to ask ... and I'd never have found it if not for my friend making me smarten up! Good on her!

Other resources to check - updated:

• Catholic Mom has been addressing this issue for some time.
• American Papist is doing full coverage as well with many links to different resources.
• Dr. Melissa Clouthier has another look at this issue and also brings good questions to mind.
• A letter to the editor in our newspaper this morning brought up the fact that thalomide was thought perfectly safe and, therefore, was prescribed to women for morning sickness ... an uncomfortable situation to be sure but one that most people can get through on their own while just feeling terrible. The now-infamous result was to mutate the next generation in a terrible way. Tom points out that this was a problem was visited upon British children but not Americans because the FDA was still testing the drug ... back in their cautious days for which I am thankful. An interesting comparison to be sure.
• Rev. Thomas Euteneuer has a good column about this issue. (Thanks to Georgette for this ... I still miss her blog.)
• 10 things You Might Not Know About Gardasil looks into the HPV vaccine for a whole slew of different reasons and backs up their questions with info from Merck and the FDA.
• I really don't think of myself as being part of the "religious right" (which I realize may make some laugh, especially with a blog name like Happy Catholic). However, having excerpted something which mentions a possible increase of sexual activity for minors seems to have put that particular topic top of mind for most readers, despite the other more pressing misgivings mentioned in this post and the update above. My attention was politely directed to a post which discusses the fact that mandatory vaccination requirements allow availability to the less fortunate and keep costs down. I would have found this more convincing had there been more facts to back up the basic premises and less time spent lambasting those with which the author took umbrage, namely the abstinence movement and the religious right. However, be that as it may, the core arguments are valid for those who believe the vaccine is safe and you can read it for yourself here: Rejecting Vaccine "Choice". (If anyone can provide me with a post but that has some solid documentation and less polemics to sort through ... let me know and I'll put it here ...)
• Medical Cost versus Benefit Modeling: from a commenter comes excellent, unemotional information about how to evaluate this vaccine ... and links to recommendations already made in professional medical journals.