The Gary Null Blog

Nikki Haley, Governor of South Carolina, made headlines on Tuesday by vetoing a bill initiated by the Democrats which would provide sixth graders with government-sponsored information encouraging parents to get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for their children as well as one free HPV vaccine for seventh graders.  Haley has received a barrage of criticism for her actions, and charges of hypocrisy for having previously sponsored a bill in 2007 that would have mandated the HPV vaccine in South Carolina, even though she ultimately withdrew her backing because the bill did not contain an opt-out provision.  While the current bill had broad bipartisan support, Governor Haley rejected it as unnecessary and because it would be a precursor to a vaccine mandate entirely dependent on government funding.  More importantly, however, Haley was quoted as saying her previous support of a human papillomavirus vaccine mandate was a mistake:  now that she has a 14 year-old daughter she feels differently about “what I am going to do as a parent and what I want for my child.”¹