Measles Outbreak Draws Politicians Into Vaccination Debate

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The measles outbreak has sparked a nationwide debate about vaccines, and potential candidates for the 2016 presidential election are sharing their thoughts.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) argued that parents should have the freedom to choose whether they would vaccinate their children.

Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tweeted about the debate, saying "The science is clear: the earth is round, the sky is blue and vaccines work."

Passion is clearly evident on both sides of the debate, as more than 100 measles cases in the U.S. have come to light in an outbreak linked to Disneyland.

It renews a debate on whether or not vaccines should be absolutely required or optional.

"It's very emotional to people on both sides of this issue and I think they will remember political stances that are taken today," said political analyst Steve Swatt. "You never know in a political campaign what issue is going to pop up. And here it is two years before a president is chosen, just about two years, and all of a sudden the issue du jour is vaccinations."

So far, Paul, Clinton and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have all made statements related to vaccinations.

While students show the majority of Americans support requiring vaccines for all children in recent years, in recent years a segment of parents have fought to make them optional in 19 states, including California.

That follows disproven and retracted research that claimed to show a link to autism. The research originally printed in The Lancet in 1998 was retracted in 2010. In later years, it was found that data in the study had been manipulated to show the link.

Swatt says the topic plays into voters' feelings about big government, especially for some fringe groups.

"It is about choice, and they do question science and for them this is so emotional, they could be one-issue voters for all we know," he said.

Pediatrician Dr. Daniel McCrimon says politicians should be well informed before opening their mouth.

"It should not be a kneejerk thought from anyone outside of people that are the experts on it," he said.