March 18, 2009
Richard H. Besser, M.D.
Acting Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30333
RE: HPV Vaccination Mandate for Immigrant Women and Girls
Dear Dr. Besser:
The undersigned, over 125 immigrants’ rights, women’s rights, public health, medical, and reproductive justice organizations write to urge you to expedite the publishing of the proposed criteria for identifying Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended vaccines as immunization requirements for immigrants in the Federal Register.
At the February 25-26 ACIP meeting, the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ) proposed criteria for identifying ACIP recommended vaccines as immunization requirements for immigrants. We are encouraged by this proposal and feel that it is an appropriate response to the recent controversy surrounding the HPV vaccination mandate on immigrants. We have learned, however, that while the proposal has been drafted for publication in the Federal Register, publication has been stalled.
In our January 26th letter to you (enclosed), we outlined our concerns about the HPV vaccination mandate on immigrants, and would like to remind you of the urgency of the situation. We have received inquiries and reports from concerned families and young women who have opted to postpone their adjustment of status applications in order to avoid compliance with the mandate. Immigrant women and their families should not have to choose between delaying their path toward residency and U.S. citizenship, and meeting this burdensome and unnecessary requirement.
We urge you to act immediately to clear the proposal for publication in the Federal Register and begin the process of correcting this mandate.
Thank you for your consideration. We welcome the opportunity for further communication on this issue. Please contact Priscilla Huang at phuang@napawf.org, or (301) 270-4440, with questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
International Organizations
International Women’s Health Coalition
National Organizations
Advocates for Youth
American Immigration Lawyers Association
American Medical Student Association
American Social Health Association
Americans for Democratic Action
Asian American Justice Center
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Black Women’s Health Imperative
Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Women Policy Studies
Choice USA
Church World Service, Immigration and Refugee Program
Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP)
Gynecological Cancer Foundation
Ibis Reproductive Health
Law Students for Reproductive Justice
Legal Momentum
Migrant Health Promotion
National Advocates for Pregnant Women
Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association
National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD)
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza
National Health Law Program
National Immigration Law Center
National Institute for Reproductive Health
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
National Network of Abortion Funds
National Organization for Women
Nonviolent Choice Directory
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women’s Health Network
OCA Embracing the Hopes and Aspirations of Asian Pacific Americans
Our Bodies Ourselves
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Pro-Choice Public Education Project (PEP)
Project PAP (Prevention Awareness Program) National Group
Quirky Black Girls
Reproductive Health Technologies Project
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective
South Asian Americans Leading Together
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
The MergerWatch Project
The Praxis Project
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
Women of Color Resource Center
State/Local Organizations
ACCESS/Women’s Health Rights Coalition
Act for Women and Girls
African Services Committee
American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia, Pa
Asian Law Caucus
Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
BARCA, Inc.
Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Law Institute, North Carolina Central University School of Law
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Family Health Council, Inc.
California National Organization for Women
Chicago Abortion Fund
Chicago Women’s Health Center
Coloradans For Immigrant Rights, a project of the American Friends Service Committee Colorado
Colorado National Organization for Women
Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity & Reproductive Rights (COLOR)
Daya, Inc. (Texas)
Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) (New York City)
Different Avenues
Entre Nosotras Foundation
Farmworker Legal Services of NY, Inc.
Feminist Women’s Health Center
Florida Coastal School of Law Immigrants Rights Clinic
HPV Awareness
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, Inc.
Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH)
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
Immigration Services, Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Atlanta
Indo-American Center (Illinois)
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Refugee Immigration Project
Justice Now
Just Neighbors
Kentucky Health Justice Network
Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC), Chicago, IL
Korean Resource Center (KRC), Los Angeles, CA
Law Office of Jacqueline Tapia
LUZ: A Reproductive Justice Think Tank
Miami International Latinas Organizing for Leadership and Advocacy (MI-LOLA)
Michigan Asian Indian Family Services (Michigan)
Mitch Factors Innovation in Health & Wellness
Mujeres Latinas en Accion
NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts
NARAL Pro-Choice New York
NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon
Narika
Nationalities Service Center
New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice
New York City Latina Advocacy Network
Northwest Women’s Law Center
Pinay sa Seattle
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles
Planned Parenthood of New York City
Prax(us)
Refugee Forum of Orange County
Reproductive Justice Collective
Reproductive Justice Committee of the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood (NJ)
Robin H. Thompson & Associates
SisterLove, Inc.
Southwest Women’s Law
Tewa Women United
The Feminist Women’s Health Centers of California
The Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies
The New York Immigration Coalition
UCAN
Victims Resource Center
Women Who Care, Inc.
YWCA of the Sauk Valley
The Feminist Women’s Health Centers of California
The Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies
The New York Immigration Coalition
UCAN
Victims Resource Center
Women Who Care, Inc.
YWCA of the Sauk Valley
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