Ontario's Catholic education boards are considering whether to allow eighth-grade girls in their schools to receive the vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), an STD that is the cause of most cervical cancer cases.

Last night, the Halton board voted 4-3 to let public health officials administer the vaccine in board elementary schools. The Toronto board is set to take up the issue tomorrow, and a Northern Ontario Catholic board will do so next month. A key concern is whether the immunizations in effect condone premarital sex, which is condemned by the Catholic church.

Anthony Danko, the board trustee who proposed barring the HPV program from Halton schools, said the vaccine's moral ramifications are chief among his concerns. "It's presuming that they're going to have sex. This may be the reality, but it's not a very hopeful attitude," said Danko. "We're teaching abstinence and on the other hand, we're saying, 'Here's protection, just in case.'" Oliver Carroll, chairperson of the Toronto board, dismisses the notion that offering the HPV vaccine is a tacit vote in favor of premarital sex. "I can't imagine too many parents would be encouraging their 13-, 14-year-old children to engage in sexual activity," he said. "But we recognize the world around us." Though one or two members of his board object to the immunizations, it is likely the program will be given the green light, he said.

The Canadian government allocated $300 million (US $296 million) in the last budget for provincial HPV vaccine programs. Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island are the first to launch school-based programs to administer the vaccine.

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