MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Momentum for legislation that would require sixth-grade girls to get vaccinated against cervical cancer is dying.

The measure's main sponsors, Sens. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, and Robert Wirch, D-Pleasant Prairie, said they had bipartisan support when they announced the bill in January.,”MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Momentum for legislation that would require sixth-grade girls to get vaccinated against cervical cancer is dying.

The measure's main sponsors, Sens. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, and Robert Wirch, D-Pleasant Prairie, said they had bipartisan support when they announced the bill in January.

But insurers, some doctors and conservative groups have opposed such a measure. Now Rep. Leah Vukmir, R-Milwaukee, chairwoman of the Assembly health committee, says the bill won't get past her panel.

The Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine in June and suggested it be given to females ages 9 to 26. The Centers for Disease Control recommended girls be vaccinated before they become sexually active since the cancer is contracted by sexual or even skin-to-skin contact.

Supporters say the vaccine could help eliminate cervical cancer, but opponents say mandating its use goes too far.

The vaccine, administered in three shots, runs about $360. Some insurance providers may not cover the costs, said Phil Dougherty, a spokesman from the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans.

Questions also linger about how long the vaccine remains effective in the body, how many additional shots a woman may need and who would pay for them, said Dr. Jim Conway, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Some insurers won't pay for the vaccine, and some doctors aren't stocking it because of the high costs and uncertainty over being able to recoup them, Conway said.

And Julaine Appling, chief executive officer of the Family Research Institute of Wisconsin, fears that ordering the vaccine will tell girls they are expected to have sex.

"What we're telling kids is, look, we expect you'll be sexually active between 12 and 16," Appling said.

Doctors and parents should decide whether a girl should be vaccinated, Appling said.

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said she had expected to co-sponsor the bill, but changed her mind after she learned it mandated the vaccine.

More than 20 state legislatures are debating whether to mandate the vaccine.

The idea caused trouble for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who this year issued an executive order requiring the vaccine for all sixth-grade girls. It turned out Perry's former chief of staff was a lobbyist for Merck, the vaccine's manufacturer.

Wirch conceded the Wisconsin bill faces "significant obstacles." But Taylor says she hasn't given up and is still trying to muster support.

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