Bill would remove requirement that Iowa schools teach about cancer-preventing HPV vaccine

DES MOINES — Iowa schools no longer would be required to teach students about the availability of the HPV vaccine under a bill advanced Monday by Republican lawmakers.

House File 187 would remove the provision in Iowa law requiring schools to teach about “the availability of a vaccine to prevent HPV” in grades seven and eight, making the instruction optional. General instruction about sexually transmitted diseases, including HPV, still would be required.

HPV, or human papillomavirus, is a sexually transmitted infection that affects many sexually active men and women. Most cases go away with no health problems, but some can go on to cause cancer, including cervical cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine for the virus is recommended for children ages 11 to 12. It can be given between 9 and 26 years old, according to the CDC.

Public health experts, advocates and HPV-related cancer survivors spoke at a public hearing on the bill arguing that removing the provision would endanger the health of students. They said the vaccine is one of the most effective ways to prevent cancer.

Nathan Boonstra, a pediatrician at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, said receiving education around the HPV vaccine at school better prepares students to be informed when they are eligible to receive the vaccine.

“The HPV vaccine is one of, if not the most lifesaving vaccine that I can give in my clinic,” he said. “And although all pediatricians are doing our best to educate our patients and families, we only have so much time in the clinic with our patients.”

Morgan Newman, a cervical cancer survivor, said she wishes she had proper education about the HPV vaccine when she was a teenager. She did not receive the vaccine, and in her 20s developed cervical cancer. The cancer then spread to her lungs, she said, and she was given less than a 10 percent chance of surviving. She has been cancer-free for seven years, she said.

“It is unethical to not be able to provide this necessary information for cancer prevention,” she said.

The first vaccine for HPV was introduced in 2006, and the provision requiring instruction about it was added to Iowa law in 2007.

While most speakers at the subcommittee hearing on the bill were opposed to it, Lindsay Maher with Informed Choice Iowa — a group that opposes vaccine requirements — supported the bill, and she said removing the provision would not outlaw teaching about the vaccine and leave the decision up to schools.

She also questioned the safety of the HPV vaccine, saying if the bill was not passed, lawmakers should require teaching about the risks of the vaccine.

According to the CDC, the HPV vaccine has the rare potential for side effects like any other vaccine, but studies have not shown higher than expected rates of adverse events following vaccination.

“It’s extremely safe,” Boonstra said. “It has extremely rare side effects. As far as the safety profile and number of studies that are done, it’s comparable to virtually any other vaccine that we routinely give.”

Rep. Brooke Boden, R-Indianola, said she was curious what other vaccines are talked about in schools and was skeptical of a teacher’s ability to provide the right instruction about the HPV vaccine.

While no other specific vaccine teaching is required in K-12 schools, the benefits of immunization often are taught in physical education classes, said Sharon Guthrie, the executive director of the Iowa School Nurse Organization. Iowa law also requires public colleges and universities to provide information about the meningitis vaccine.

“I don’t think that we should not discuss HPV, the risks, and all of that,” Boden said. “The question is where do we begin to draw the line between your teacher teaching about immunizations inside the school?”

Boden and Rep. Anne Osmundson, a Republican from Volga, voted to advance the bill, while Democratic Rep. Monica Kurth of Davenport did not. But Boden cautioned she’s still looking for information and the bill won’t necessarily continue to advance.

It’s not the only bill being considered in the Legislature seeking to roll back teaching about HPV and the vaccine. A bill proposed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, Senate Study Bill 1145, that deals with instruction around gender identity and sexual activity also includes a provision repealing the requirement that schools teach about HPV and the HPV vaccine. It also removes a requirement that schools teach about HIV and AIDS.