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TO ENACT THE "CERVICAL CANCER PREVENTION ACT" SO AS TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 44-29-187 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING WITH THE 2009-2010 SCHOOL YEAR, THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SHALL REQUIRE FEMALE STUDENTS ENROLLING IN THE SEVENTH GRADE TO HAVE RECEIVED THE CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE SERIES AND TO AUTHORIZE DELAYING THE REQUIREMENT FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT ELEVEN YEARS OLD AT ENROLLMENT INTO THE SEVENTH GRADE; TO APPLY THE DEPARTMENT'S IMMUNIZATION AND VACCINATION EXEMPTIONS, AS PROVIDED FOR IN REGULATION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION; AND TO PROVIDE THAT IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS SECTION IS CONTINGENT UPON STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING.
Whereas, the American Cancer Society estimates that over 9,700 new cervical cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States this year and that more than 3,700 women will die this year of cervical cancer; and
Whereas, infections caused by two strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) are the leading cause of cervical cancer and account for seventy percent of all cervical cancer cases; and
Whereas, South Carolina ranks third in the country in the incidence of cervical cancer and the death rate for cervical cancer in South Carolina exceeds the national death rate;
Whereas, data from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control indicates that approximately two hundred new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed annually in South Carolina. Additionally, more than $25 million is expended annually in South Carolina to treat HPV related conditions; and
Whereas, the Food and Drug Administration recently approved the use of the HPV vaccine, a vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer, a groundbreaking development in medical history in that this is the first vaccine specifically developed to prevent a type of cancer; and
Whereas, clinical trials to date have found that this cervical cancer vaccine is extremely safe and highly effective in preventing infection of the two strains of the human papillomavirus, which cause seventy percent of cervical cancer; and
Whereas, the Centers for Disease Control Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends, in conjunction with the federal Vaccine for Children Program, that females between the ages of nine and eighteen receive the cervical cancer vaccine, with 11 years of age being the recommended age for being vaccinated; and
Whereas, this recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Medical Association; and
Whereas, in this State, as well as throughout the country, recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices are the basis for vaccination requirements set by law for school attendance. Now therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. This act may be cited as "The Cervical Cancer Prevention Act".
SECTION 2. Chapter 29, Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 44-29-187. (A)(1) Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, the Department of Health and Environmental Control shall include the cervical cancer vaccination series as a required vaccination in accordance with Section 44-29-180 for female students enrolling in the seventh grade in any school, public or private, in this State.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (A)(1), a female student is not required to comply with subsection (A)(1) if the student has not attained the age of eleven by the time of enrollment in the seventh grade. However, the student must have received the cervical cancer vaccination series to enroll in the grade following her eleventh birthday.
(B) Regulation 61-8, as amended, 'Vaccination, Screening and Immunization Regarding Contagious Diseases', and its exemptions apply to this section including, but not limited to, a religious exemption in which the parents, parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis may sign the appropriate section of the South Carolina Certificate of Religious Exemption, as provided by the department, stating they are members of a recognized religious denomination in which the tenets and practices of the religious denomination conflict with immunizations.
(C) For purposes of this section, 'cervical cancer vaccination series' means the human papillomavirus vaccination series.
(D) Implementation of this section is contingent upon the appropriation of state and federal funding to the department to cover the costs of providing this vaccine to eligible female students."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on Monday, June 22, 2009 at 2:34 P.M.