ProgressOhio

Hey!

This is to inform you of a project the Ohio College Dems will be hosting during the month of March in honor of Women's History Month. OCD has made up a form letter about the HPV vaccine, asking the Governor to fight for statewide access to the vaccine. With Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine recently stepping up and joining the fight against cervical cancer, it's time for Gov. Strickland to do the same.

We will be collecting letters from College Dems across the state, and then traveling to the statehouse and dropping off these letters ourselves to the Governor's office. Get together with your chapters to sign letters, and then contact OCD President Jen Johns (JenJohns.1@gmail.com) about where to send them.

The deadline for sending in the letters is going to be April 1st, 2007. You'll find the letter below, simply have college dems and other students at your university sign and address the letter, and we'll make sure it finds its way to Ted!

For more information, and to get involved, email me at JenJohns.1@gmail.com

Thanks, and keep fighting the good fight!

Jen Johns

President, Ohio College Democrats

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Ohio College Democrats

ABCs of HPV Initiative

Letter to the Governor

Dear Governor Strickland,

I am writing to you as one of your constituents, as a concerned college student and an activist. HPV (human papoloma virus) is now the number one sexually transmitted infection in college-aged women, and is also the leading cause of cervical cancer. The numbers are both realistic and shocking. It was reported by the American Center for Disease Control that three out of four women will contract HPV at some point in their lives.

Although it is a new vaccine, I would persuade you to follow the footsteps of Governor Tim Kaine in Virginia, who has made the vaccine required for girls in the sixth grade, but has also offered an option out for parents.

I would also persuade you to look into a recent study from Stanford University, which proved that it costs less to administer the vaccine to all sixth grade girls than to treat the amount of cervical cancer patients in a state. This issue is not about bureaucracy; it's about cancer. It's not about budget excuses; it's about cancer. It's not certainly not about promiscuity; it's about the over 4,000 women who die of cervical cancer each year.

There isn't time to stall on this issue. There isn't time to wait and follow the actions of other politicians. More women shouldn't have to die for this issue to be addressed. It's the most sincere moral issue of our time. We have a means to fight cancer and save lives; it's about time we move away from sound bytes and politics, and focus on the American people, and step up and save the lives of women across the state of Ohio

Sincerely,

Concerned Citizen