Kentucky Senator Rand Paul waded into an increasingly contentious debate over enforced vaccinations on Monday, saying in a radio interview that inoculating children “ought to be voluntary.”
“I’m not antivaccine at all,” the libertarian Republican said Monday, during an interview with talk-radio host Laura Ingraham, “but particularly, most of them ought to be voluntary. What happens if you have somebody not wanting to take the smallpox vaccine and it ruins it for everybody else? I think there are times in which there can be some rules, but for the first part it ought to be voluntary.”
Paul later clarified his remarks in an interview with CNBC. “The thing is I think vaccines are one of the greatest medical breakthroughs that we have. I’m a big fan and a great fan of the history of the development of the small-pox vaccine, for example,” he said. “But you know, for most of our history, they have been voluntary. So I don’t think I’m arguing for anything out of the ordinary. We are arguing for what most of our history has had.”
He added: “I’m not arguing vaccines are a bad idea. I think they are a good thing, but I think the parent should have some input. The state doesn’t own your children. Parents own the children. And it is an issue of freedom and public health.”
The comments come amid a growing furor over New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s suggestion that states should “balance” laws on vaccination against a parent’s right to choose. He walked back the remarks Monday amid a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that cases of the measles had spread to 14 states.
Paul walked a similarly fine line, noting that while some vaccines were essential to public health, decisions over timing and dosage should be left open to parents.
It’s not only Republicans like Christie and Paul who have found vaccine messaging tricky. President Obama, who urged parents over the weekend to vaccinate their children, previously said that he harbored suspicions about the (long debunked) link between autism and vaccines.
“We’ve seen just a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious that it’s connected to the vaccines,” he said in 2008, “this person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it.”
Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—ReduxHillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014.Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIMEJeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—APBernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015.Win McNamee—Getty ImagesChris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013.Mark Peterson—ReduxFormer Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—ReutersRand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty ImagesRick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas.David J. Phillip—APBobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—APMartin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—APMarco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014.Melissa Golden—ReduxBen CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—APJim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012.Steve Helber—APJohn Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—APRick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—CorbisScott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—APMike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—APLincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—ReutersLindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race.Alex Wong—Getty ImagesGeorge Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo.Brian Snyder—Reuters
