BANGOR (AP) – Proposed legislation would promote access to a vaccine that combats the virus that causes cervical cancer, but it would not mandate that young girls be inoculated against the disease.

Other states that have proposed laws requiring the vaccinations have met with opposition from parents and religious groups. The bill in Maine attempts to sidestep that controversy by focusing on education and funding and making the vaccine optional.

Legislation to mandate the inoculation against human papillomavirus, or HPV, is being debated in about 20 states. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has ordered the shots for girls there.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that the vaccine be administered to all girls when they are 11 to 12 years old, before they have been exposed to HPV through sexual activity. The vaccine protects against the two types of HPV responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Lisa Marrache, D-Waterville, would require the state Department of Health and Human Services to provide coverage for the HPV vaccine under Medicaid, known as MaineCare in Maine, as well as through the Maine Immunization Program. A hearing date on the bill has not been scheduled.

Marrache, a physician and the mother of a 15-year-old girl, said she has no qualms about the vaccine and that her daughter has asked to be vaccinated.

“But I wouldn’t want to force it on anybody,” she said.

The legislation would also require the state to report vaccination rates, funding status and updated information on the vaccine to the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee in 2008 and 2010.

It further seeks to raise public awareness of cervical cancer by requiring the state to develop informational materials and distribute them to schools and universities, health care practices, libraries, malls and other sites.

In other states, some parent groups have objected to mandated vaccines on the grounds that it hasn’t been around long enough to have a long-term safety record.

Others fear that inoculating young girls against a sexually transmitted disease might encourage them to become sexually active.

Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, said his organization would have fought any effort to require HPV vaccinations of sixth-grade girls. Marrache’s bill, however, leaves the decision up to parents, he said.

Still, Heath added, “The best vaccine (against sexually transmitted diseases) is to remain chaste until one gets married.”

Dr. Dora Mills, head of the Maine Center for Disease Control, said she will testify in overall support of Marrache’s bill but will propose ways to implement its goals without committing the state to spending more money.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-02-13-07 1406EST