Cervical cancer and Religion

Dr Dork is pleasantly surprised.

Professor Ian Frazer, an immunologist, (pictured right) has been named as Australian of the Year for his development of a vaccine against the Human Papilloma viruses (HPV).

HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer. This vaccine will ultimately prevent virtually all cervical cancer.

But Dr Dork is also angry.

There has, for some time, been a groundswell of argument from Christian religious fundamentalists against the use of this vaccine. Their argument ?

It will increase promiscuity. What bollocks. It will save hundreds of thousands of lives...as a conservative estimate.

This reminds Dr Dork of the resurgence of polio in Africa in recent years. This is due to the Islamic religious fundamentalist control of northern Nigeria, who harbour strange beliefs about vaccines. Polio was, prior to this, close to going the way of smallpox....complete eradication.

Dr Dork is glad of the separation of Church and State where he lives, and in most of the world. He respects people who have strong religious convictions as much as those who don't. But not when they proselytize. And certainly not when unecessary deaths result.