On Monday, the Texas Senate voted 30-1 to override Gov. Rick Perry's order that would have required schoolgirls to be vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection that causes cervical cancer.
The House passed the legislation last month. It now goes to the governor, who can sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature, which would happen in 10 days. Both houses have enough votes to override his veto.
“I’m hopeful he’ll be respectful of the vote of the people,” said Kelly Shackelford, president of the Free Market Foundation, an organization associated with Focus on the Family. “They don’t want the power of the Legislature usurped in this way.”
In February, Perry outraged the state and nation when he issued an executive order to require the HPV vaccine for all girls entering the sixth grade.
Sen. Glenn Hegar told The Associated Press that passing the legislation sets a precedent that “we as a Legislature have a voice and we get to decide what vaccines are mandated in the state of Texas and which vaccines are not.”
