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Feb 26, 2007 5:05 am US/Central

Mass. To Offer Free Cervical Cancer Vaccine

Massachusetts girls between the ages of nine and 18 would be eligible to receive a free vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer under the governor's budget proposal.

But an aide to Governor Deval Patrick says the shots would not be mandatory.

The budget plan, to be unveiled Tuesday, also includes funding for a new rotavirus vaccine for infants and an improved bacterial meningitis vaccine for children.

Patrick says the investments "not only save lives but also reduce treatment costs in the future."

Texas is the only state so far to make the cervical cancer vaccine mandatory for schoolgirls. But Governor Rick Perry's executive order has inflamed some conservatives who say it could encourage sexual activity in preteens and teens.

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