A woman who helped put a human face on the Texas debate over mandatory vaccinations for girls for the virus that causes cervical cancer has died.
Heather Burcham of Houston died Saturday. She was 31.
Governor Rick Perry Monday said Burcham was an inspiration to him, his staff and others whose lives were touched when she traveled to the Texas Capitol in February.
Perry issued an executive order in February that would have mandated the newly approved human papillomavirus vaccine for girls entering the sixth grade.
Members of the Legislature were outraged, complaining that Perry circumvented the legislative process. They passed a bill that would block state officials from following his order.
In a May news conference to announce that he would not veto the bill, Perry closed with a video of Burcham speaking from her hospice bed.
