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Facts and Fallacies about the HPV Vaccine

August 18, 2014 By Freddy 2 Comments

The HPV Vaccine, which guards against Human Papilloma Virus, has been available since June, 2006.

Few side effects have been reported; in fact, according to VAERS (the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) nearly all reactions to the HPV vaccine have been very mild, compared to other vaccines, such as MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) and DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus).

Vaccine reactions are typically a low fever or mild pain at the injection site although there remains much controversy about the vaccine’s safety and scare tactics abound. Even vaccines which cause higher incidence of serious reaction than the HPV vaccine are still exponentially safer than the diseases they prevent.

HPV is a common but potentially serious group of viruses, of which more than 100 strains exist. Most men and women, by the time they reach adulthood, have been exposed to this virus. In 90% of the cases, our immune system clears the virus within two years.

About 30% of the strains are sexually transmitted. Of these, a few are considered ‘high-risk’. They may cause abnormal Pap tests and can lead to cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis or anus. Others, called ‘low-risk’ strains may result in genital warts or even cause Pap test abnormalities.

Cervical cancer is the most serious complication of the HPV virus. Nearly 4,000 women in the United States die annually from this disease – worldwide, the numbers are a staggering 270,000.

So why does the controversy still exist over a vaccine which has been proven to prevent the HPV virus?

According to a Reuter’s article, the scare over the vaccine was fueled, in large part, by Michele Bachmann during her run for the 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination. One of Bachmann’s rivals, Texas Governor Rick Perry, had mandated the vaccine as part of the Texas state school vaccination program in 2007 (It was subsequently overturned.) In a 2011 debate, Bachmann seized upon an opportunity to make her rival look bad, saying he ‘forced innocent little girls to have a government injection that was potentially dangerous”. The next day, while on the Today show, Bachmann added fuel to the fire by claiming she knew of a woman whose daughter had become ‘mentally retarded’ after receiving the vaccine.

The American Academy of Pediatrics tried to quell the controversy caused by Bachmann’s unsubstantiated and self-serving remarks by issuing a statement which contained actual facts, backed by scientific research, which showed the vaccine to be safe.

In fact, so incredulous were some of the country’s top Bioethicists, that two offered rewards if Bachmann could produce proof that even one person suffered such a reaction. (One of the rewards was in excess of $10,000.) They offered to donate the rewards to Bachmann’s favorite charity and invited her to ‘put her money where her mouth was’ by donating to their charity of choice should she fail to produce a victim.

Bachmann’s campaign never replied. She never collected the reward, as she remained silent, apparently unable to find anyone with a reaction worse than a sore arm or mild headache.

As is typical, however, outlandish claims by dramatic and power-inebriated political candidates seem to get more air time than scientists talking about real facts. Possibly this is because scientists tend to behave in a calmer, more self-restrained style, which is good for science but bad for television.

Because of the dramatic accusation made by a political candidate (whose career was in law – not science), internet scare stories have proliferated in spite of a profound lack of substantive evidence.

A survey done by the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that 85% of parents planned to have their child vaccinated. Twelve percent were ‘undecided’, and cited claims made on the internet as the reason for their fear. Three percent were adamant they would not vaccinate under any circumstances, apparently fearful their offspring might not be able to comprehend a fact-deficient political debate in the future.

It’s clear that science and facts are winning the battle, but there remains much to be accomplished to educate parents of girls in middle school about the benefits of HPV prevention. Citizens for Choice supports this education, as they support all education for men and women alike to foster reproductive health.

How Men’s Attitudes About Sex, Affection and Their Bodies Affect Their Health

June 21, 2014 By Freddy Zylstra Leave a Comment

Men, affection, and sex. The subject could fill volumes, if only they would talk about it – openly and honestly.

They are taught from a very young age to pursue sexual encounters. Pre-adolescent boys are often exposed early to thinking of women as objects, even by well-meaning parents. A father, mesmerized by a beer commercial featuring a nearly naked woman, can send a message – they are bodies, not people. As always, a parent’s actions, rather than words, teach a child.

Adding to the onslaught of movies, television, and advertisements objectifying women, many men have a difficult time differentiating affection from sex. Often parents are lavishly and openly affectionate with girls, and little boys are expected to stoically refrain from spontaneous hugging and kissing with their fathers. In his article, ‘A Scarcity of Affection Among Men’( http://goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/j1b-a-scarcity-of-affection-among-men/), Jackson Bliss speaks of men learning to seek affection as sexual behavior, as opposed to social behavior. According to Bliss, it leaves a terrible wound in the male psyche – the remnants of a little boy who just needed to be hugged more often by the male role-models in his life.

Gender stereotypes are alive and well, with women winning hands down in the affection department. We openly hug our sisters, mothers, and friends. We brush each other’s hair. We collaborate, share, laugh and cry together. It’s harder for men to form close, meaningful friendships with other men that don’t involve some shared physical activity such as baseball, bowling, or car racing.

How does this affect men’s sexual health? They typically aren’t as open or forthcoming when discussing their sexual health with their physician. As a society, we appear to reinforce that behavior. ‘Well-Woman’ visits are now a part of the Affordable Health Care Act. What about ‘Well-Man’ care? Why is it we encourage men by virtue of omission to only seek care when they are writhing on the floor in agony? Why aren’t physicians taught the huge differences in communication styles between men and women – and how to initiate a more effective conversation with their male patients?

Many young women have annual gynecological visits beginning when they are teens, which include a pelvic exam, pap test, vaccinations, and even sexual health counseling. This early interaction with a health care provider who encourages them to ask questions and bring up issues simply makes women more comfortable with the process in general. Young men are mostly treated with the attitude ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, and never see a doctor for a sexual health issue unless they have a serious problem. In fact, fewer than 25% of boys age 15-19 receive any sexual health counseling, while the number for girls is 66%.

In a 2011 health survey for men conducted by Esquire Magazine, prostate exams caused men the most anxiety, despite the fact that cancer was the disease they most feared. In spite of their fears, only 45% of men actually went to the doctor, compared to a majority of women. Men in this survey (which was, not surprisingly, anonymous) also admitted that talking to a doctor about their genitals, bowels, or mental health was embarrassing.

How do we help men become more comfortable both in seeking early medical care and talking about their bodies? How do we help them learn that they, too, are responsible for their sexual health and that of their partners? That affection and sexual desire aren’t always the same emotion?

Start early. If you have a son, encourage him to share his affection with the men in his life. Fatherhood is shifting, with more men taking an active role in the raising of children. Talk with your spouse about the mental and physical health benefits of showing affection. Support organizations such as Planned Parenthood and Citizens for Choice – The Clinic! in their endeavor to provide reproductive health care and education to men and women equally.

Best of all, keep the conversation going. Share this blog with the men in your life. Give them a hug and tell them the greatest gift they could give you is their long-term health.

Are Being Pro-Choice and Embracing Religion Mutually Exclusive?

May 10, 2013 By Freddy Zylstra 8 Comments

The noise is deafening. Anti-abortion rallies are often appropriated by conservative religious groups who claim to have a direct line to God. Religion has become almost synonymous with being anti-choice.

But is this actually the case? Is it written anywhere in the Bible, Koran, Torah or teachings of Buddha that choice is wrong? How do those who support choice also honor their chosen faith?

The answers are enlightening. Keeping in mind that Pro-choice means just that; a woman has the right to choose whether and when to procreate, and government shouldn’t try to legislate the issue. For a woman who believes abortion is wrong, pro-choice advocates support her decision not to terminate her pregnancy. We simply don’t support her ability to tell us what we can or cannot do.

Catholics for Choice, (http://www.catholicsforchoice.org ) an international organization, works to promote access to safe and affordable reproductive healthcare services for all men and women. Committed to policy change, their platform is that we should respect the capability of men and women to make their own moral decisions. Their goal is to support an expression of Catholicism as lived by ordinary people.

Sarah Seltzer, in The Jewish Daily Forward blog ‘The Sisterhood’, speaks of being Jewish and Pro-Choice. In a recent blog about past Michigan Representative Lisa Brown, (http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/158015/on-being-jewish-and-pro-choice/ ) she quotes Brown giving the following logical and reasonable summary about her own beliefs: “Wherever there is a question of the life of the mother or that of the unborn child, Jewish law rules in favor of preserving the life of the mother. The status of the fetus as human life does not equal that of the mother. I have not asked you to adopt and adhere to my religious beliefs. Why are you asking me to adopt yours?”

Harvard medical student and Muslim Altaf Saadi,
( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/altaf-saadi/ ) explored the teachings of Islam and the abortion issue in a recent blog. Her bio is impressive; she received the Harvard Medical School Dean’s Community Service Award for providing counseling services with the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. She also received the Nakanishi Prize at Yale University for her leadership role in enhancing race relations on campus. She has counseled young women of color regarding issues of sexual and reproductive health.

Ms. Saadi relates that although the Qur’an (Koran) verses condemn infanticide and stress reverence for human life, abortion is not explicitly mentioned anywhere. A general understanding of Islamic law is that a fetus is not a legal person – until it is outside the womb, a child cannot inherit. Any attempt to define a legal person at conception would be rejected according to Islamic law.

Holli Carey Long, in a heartfelt blog entitled ‘Pro Choice is Not the Opposite of Pro Life’ (http://plainfield.patch.com/blog_posts/pro-choice-is-not-the-opposite-of-pro-life ) speaks about being a religious woman for whom abortion would never be a choice and at the same time having compassion and understanding for other women who may be facing challenges of which she isn’t privy. She clearly and plainly states that she cannot and will not presume to make a choice for another woman. Mrs. Long supports reproductive education, access to contraception and resources for pregnant women in crisis. Her empathy for all women is exemplary.

Damien Keown, a professor of Buddhist ethics at the University of London and author of ‘Buddhism and Abortion’, explores both sides of this issue in (http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Buddhism-and-Abortion.html) . Mr. Keown discusses the anti-abortion teachings of Buddhism, which are clear about life as a continuum, with re-birth of the soul occurring through birth and death over and over. However, as he points out, abortions are commonplace in Buddhist countries. In Japan, attacks on abortion clinics are rare. Buddhism is known for its tolerance and compassion. The complexity of life is recognized and embraced, and compassion given to one’s personal choices. Those who are pro-choice are not condemned, but understood. Often, it is recommended that a woman pondering the decision of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy meditate and seek counsel with a Buddhist teacher in order to make a decision in harmony with her conscience.

One Nevada County woman interviewed, who feels her faith compels her to act in a thoughtful, empathetic and compassionate way toward others, believes that religion is the thread that connects us to one another. To her, religion allows us the latitude to use our brains for science and knowledge – and gives us the ability to make decisions for ourselves.

That sums up what being pro-choice is really about – honoring our own and others’ personal choices as valid and acknowledging that we have no inherent right to judge them.

How does being religious or not and pro-choice play a role in your life? Your thoughtful comments are welcome.

Re-Defining Family in Our Society

February 10, 2013 By Freddy Zylstra Leave a Comment

‘The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.’

Richard Bach, Illusions

Re-Defining Family in Our Society

Contrary to the stubborn beliefs of many ultra-conservatives in our country, the ‘ideal’ family of a mother and father (who were married in a church by a minister) and their perfectly clean, well-mannered 2.5 children may not ever have been typical.

Families come in all configurations. Even during the 1800’s for example, it was not uncommon for families to be blended. After all, if you didn’t succumb to influenza or the plague, you had a greater than average chance of being killed by your wagon tipping over or your ax missing the log and hitting your leg. A woman’s husband getting killed left her little chance for survival on the plains. She could become a schoolteacher or a prostitute, the latter eliminating any hope of raising her own children. So, these people often cohabited, as much from necessity as the practical knowledge that going through life together was simply easier. Many did not legally marry; preachers were few and far between in rural areas. The orphanages routinely brought children whose parents had died to schools, hoping they would be adopted into existing families.

During the Great Depression, many families moved in together just to survive. They made their way through life by sharing what they had – and got along because that is what it took.

Even in relatively recent times, it was not at all uncommon for many generations to live under the same roof. When grandma got old and needed care, she had a ready-made staff of caretakers young and old, who made sure she felt loved and stayed safe. In the 1970’s an upswing in communal living was popular as an antidote to the constraints of ‘establishment’ society, and ‘families’ were created.

Life is challenging. We are all making our way, trying to create a life and be our authentic selves. Why should we care if someone else’s idea of family is different from our own? In looking at my own spectrum of friends (who I consider my extended family), I see married couples, unmarried couples with children, single parents, gay couples, platonic friends living together and raising children, and friends whose immediate family is their dog. What do they all have in common? They are all sincere, ethical, hard-working people who I can count on to support my choices, whatever they are. They share heartache and joy, meet challenges as a team, and rely on each other during crises. They are families.

Many schools across the nation have incorporated a policy of tolerance and acceptance and make it a point to embrace all family structures and members. Some have even begun holding ‘family day’ where all makes and models of families are invited to come and share their stories. The goal is to teach kids that they should be accepting of other humans, whether or not they are similar or different. Caught early enough, teachers report, these kids are objective, interested, and very tolerant of others. They champion each other’s rights. They aren’t afraid to admit they are vulnerable, and hold hands for comfort as they brave the new school year.

Yet in spite of the real facts – that ‘family’ in reality has likely never been as narrow as the conservative definition (except perhaps in the late 1950’s on Leave It To Beaver) there is an attempt by some to insist on a very rigid definition of family.

Tim Graham, of the ultra-conservative Media Research Center, is outraged that schools have an anti-bullying policy which includes gay kids. According to him, we are living in a ‘hypersexualized’ society and this anti-bullying policy causes a terrible loss of innocence in our children. I guess it’s okay with Mr. Graham if one of these innocent little darlings says something nasty and demeaning to another child as long as that child is gay. Apparently, he’s all for an anti-bullying policy, as long as we are selective about who we don’t bully. How he manages to extrapolate sex from anti-bullying is beyond comprehension, but I suspect he sees sex in everything, which says more about his own mind than others’.

How much better our world would be if Mr. Graham and his contemporaries could find it in their hearts to have respect and joy for others’ choices. He would have more time to spend soul-searching his unhealthy obsession with sexuality.

Citizens for Choice embraces families of all types – regardless of sexual orientation.

Why Take Care of Your Reproductive Health?

January 9, 2013 By Freddy Zylstra 2 Comments

Regular reproductive health care checkups save lives. A yearly exam can yield valuable information about your reproductive health, and includes screening for cervical cancer, breast exams, and pelvic exams for women and testicular cancer screening for men. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 6 in 10 people consider family planning centers their main source of health care.

Why is this? In part, it’s because these centers focus on prevention and education. They make a concerted effort to offer no cost or low cost services, non-judgmental information and education, and a community-centric attitude.

Women, in general, spend nearly 68% more on health care than men, primarily for reproductive health care needs. Often, these funds are an out-of-pocket cost they must absorb without the help of insurance. Many are forced to go without, unless they have access to a community family planning enter.

What services might you expect from a family planning center?

STI Testing and treatment. Testing for STI’s is crucial for those who are sexually active. The incidence of STI’s has almost doubled in the 50+ age category. Partly due to drugs such as Viagra, this age group is enjoying sex well into their 80’s. Since education about STI’s is typically geared for the younger crowd, the message apparently isn’t getting through to this demographic. They feel as if they don’t need to use condoms, because they have often been through menopause and no longer need worry about an unplanned pregnancy. Some, who may have been in a monogamous relationship for decades and are now single again, may never have used a condom. They often are embarrassed to ask how. Family planning centers, such as The Clinic! offer a compassionate atmosphere, education and free instruction on condom use.
Counseling, information and referrals for unplanned pregnancies. If you think you are pregnant, you need to know for certain as soon as possible. Even if this is happy news, it can be stressful, especially if it is your first child. Having someone compassionate and non-judgmental who can talk you through all your options can make an often overwhelming and emotional situation much easier to navigate – and allow you to decide what is best for yourself.
Contraception; including emergency contraception. The staff will talk with you about your options for contraception, so you can make the decision that is right for you and your lifestyle. If you are in need of emergency contraception, they will explain how it works and let you make an informed decision.

Family planning centers like The Clinic! typically offer a sliding-scale fee for those who may not qualify for one of the programs that cover reproductive health care, such as Family Pact or Medi-Cal. If you have no insurance, or carry a high deductible, you can still receive excellent care and information from one of these centers.

Many men and women who have insurance coverage still elect to go to a family planning center for reproductive health care, citing the knowledge, objectivity, common sense and care they receive from doctors and staff as well as the time spent explaining procedures and/or medication.

Their goal is to empower men, women and teens to take charge of their reproductive health, make informed decisions and enjoy a healthy life.

For more information about Citizens for Choice or The Clinic!, visit our website at www.citizensforchoice.org.

Facts and Fallacies about the HPV Vaccine

How Men’s Attitudes About Sex, Affection and Their Bodies Affect Their Health

Are Being Pro-Choice and Embracing Religion Mutually Exclusive?

Re-Defining Family in Our Society

Why Take Care of Your Reproductive Health?

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