Government and Merck drug company seek profits at the expense of kids

The following news story by MassResistance raises a question about corporate drug companies and families. The question is this: Should we allow children to be drugged against any parent’s consent to benefit the bottom of line of Merck or any other drug company? More simply, do people exist for the benefit of corporate profits? If not, should not Americans put such companies out of business whether by demanding a revocation of their incorporation, by a nationwide class-lawsuit, or by non-patronage? I would hope so. Fortunately, the people of Massachusetts have won the battle against Merck’s powerful lobbyists.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts Legislature’s Committee on Health Care Financing told MassResistance that the controversial bill S102 – “An act requiring immunization of children against human pampilloma virus” has been sent to “study” — a legislative maneuver that that effectively kills it for the session.

S102 would have required an HPV vaccine to be given to all 6th-grade girls in the Commonwealth. Besides ethical and moral issues forcing a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease on young girls, the vaccine was widely criticized for being untested in the long term, dangerous, and ineffective.

S102 was being pushed by the massive Merck drug company as part of a multi-state effort to sell it’s vaccine, Gardasil, by filing similar bills in in at least 18 state legislatures. In Massachusetts, Merck put a huge lobbying effort into S102. They put on lavish presentations for legislators and hired expensive lobbyists, which included a big State House “information” forum for legislators that included a parade of medical professionals brought in by Merck. Over the summer, slick radio commercials began to appear on Boston radio stations, funded by Merck, discussing the HPV issue and leading people to websites supportive of Merck’s efforts.

Concern had been brewing around the country about Gardasil, but the Merck effort in Massachusetts seemed unstoppable. At the S102 public hearing on July 13, MassResistance was the only group testifying against it (with two people), but we presented powerful testimony plus additional material for each committee member. In addition, we made sure they knew that parents were going to fight this to the bitter end.

We should not forget drug companies succeeded in mass drugging of America’s children in the past. With approval of the federal government, children became drug companies guinea pigs, which made boost sales by the billions. If that is doubted, read Rachel Zimmerman’s February 5, 2001 Wall Street Journal article titled Drug Companies Make Billions Testing Adult Drugs on Kids.

Remember Prozac and Ritalin the classroom miracle drugs? According to Frank Giovinazzi, over 2 million kids have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) which boosted sales of drugs like Ritalin 60% from 2001 to 2005. I personally believe a lot of the problem is related to diet and boring teachers, but not according to a August 14, 2007 Fox Health News report, it was found that half of ADD children were actually suffering from tonsillitis and much of the other half suffered from insomnia.

The moral of the story is that drug company programs do not care about supposed health needs of children; they care about making profit. The same must be said of federal officials who ensure drug companies boost the national GDP. Many state officials are no better. If they were, legislation like Massachusetts S102 would have never existed. Health officials are just as bad for exactly the same reasons.

To more about Merck’s campaign in Massachusetts, go here or visit MassResistance website for more information.

This post was first published at The State of America’s Family.