The politicians are coming out in force on the issue of vaccination in light of all the media attention the 2015 US measles outbreak is getting. President Obama and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have already voiced differing views on the issue.

photo caricature donkeyhotey/donkeyhotey.wordpress.com
photo caricature donkeyhotey.wordpress.com

Now joining what was already a tense debate prior to the Disneyland outbreak is Kentucky Senator and libertarian-leaning ophthalmologist, Rand Paul. Not surprisingly, Paul believes that vaccination of children should be voluntary.

In an interview on the Laura Ingraham Radio show today, Dr. Paul said, “I’m not anti-vaccine at all, 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.”

In addition on CNBC, the junior Senator said he defended the “issue of freedom” concerning vaccinations. He even went on to say something quite odd given all the evidence there is concerning vaccine safety–“I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines,” he said.

Related: Anti-vaccination views linked to low confidence in the government: Study

Vaccines: An interview with Dr. Paul Offit 

Young American adults, vaccines and autism: Poll results