The debate over the new human papillomavirus – or HPV – vaccine was vibrantly brought to life yesterday at the Knight Law Center when a community member and strong opponent to mandating the vaccine for school-age children appeared to participate in a lecture and discussion about the vaccine.
The Women’s Law Forum invited Dr. Audrey Garrett, a local gynecologist and oncologist who is paid to promote the drug, to speak about the benefits of the vaccine and answer questions from the public.
HPV is a sexually transmitted disease and the leading cause of cervical cancer internationally, Garrett said. The HPV vaccine, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2005, helps protect women against the strains of the virus that are linked to cervical cancer. The vaccine has recently sparked national debate after Texas mandated that all school-age girls be administered the vaccine.
The national debate brewed in the discussion of approximately 50 students when Garrett, who is a strong proponent of the vaccine, mentioned local opposition to the vaccine and cited a recent letter published in The Register-Guard by former University adjunct assistant professor of psychology Deborah Frisch, which suggested that “an equally effective way to wipe out cervical cancer would be to neuter the boys.”
Frisch, who was in attendance, quickly raised her arms and interrupted Garrett, saying, “That was me!”
After teaching at the University, The Associated Press has reported, Frisch worked as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Arizona but resigned amid controversy after an online spat with a conservative blogger in which she wrote ” If some nutcase kidnapped your child tomorrow and did to her what was done to your fellow Coloradan, Jon-Benet Ramsey, I wouldn’t give a damn.”
Frisch now lives in Eugene.
Frisch refrained from limiting Garrett’s presentation, though Garrett admitted to Frisch and the audience, “I’m a little shaken having you here.”
Tension rose again when Frisch challenged the data and statistical evidence supporting the vaccine. When Garrett showed a slide about the benefits of immunizing girls at 11 and 12 years old, Frisch again interrupted.
“Don’t you think it’s kind of sick to prick young women who are still 5 years away from the legal age of consent?” Frisch said. “How much are you getting paid by Merck (the pharmaceutical company that sells the vaccine) to propagate this?”
“A lot less than to be in the office every day,” Garrett responded.
Dr. Garrett is a paid consultant for Merck & Co., the pharmaceutical company that developed Gardasil, currently the only HPV vaccine on the market.
The tension simmered as Garrett continued her lecture to the audience, which was made up of mostly female law students.
“For me, the FDA approval of the HPV vaccine was awesome,” Garrett said. “I am now going out there and re-educating physicians who need to be doing a lot of the immunization.”
“I keep telling physicians they need to talk about this with their patients,” Garrett said. “They are seeing this on Oprah, hearing it on NPR – they need to be able to ask their doctors questions.”
While the mood in the room was tense at times, Sarah Peterson, a third-year law student and director of the Women’s Law Forum, said she thought the event was an overall success.
“We are a public law school that welcomes members of the public,” she said. “It’s nice when people with different perspectives can be part of events.”
Despite the debate’s tension, the resounding atmosphere in the discussion was one of education and learning the facts.
“A lot of people had some self-interest here,” Peterson said. “Even I’m self-interested. How can this vaccine affect our lives?”