A mandate on cervical cancer — minus funds

Lawmakers have directed Utah health officials to educate women about the causes, risks and possible prevention of cervical cancer — but without any money to do so.

HB358, sponsored by Rep. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, started out as a $1 million cervical-cancer immunization program and education campaign for young women. The bill died in legislative committee but was later brought back to give the Utah Department of Health an annual $25,000 for a public awareness campaign for health-care providers, parents and women of all ages.

Ultimately, HB358 directs the health department to find its own funding to establish a public-awareness campaign, which emphasizes "abstinence before and fidelity after marriage" as the most effective way to prevent transmission of the human papillomavirus, the primary cause of cervical cancer.

Education, including any side effects and/or risks, about an HPV vaccine recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration must also be part of the campaign.