Matt Doyle | WWL.com
A Shreveport Senator railed against vaccinations on the floor of the Louisiana Senate during discussion of a bill that would allow adults to opt in to the statewide immunization database.
John Milkovich claimed there’s a “very contentious scientific debate” about the safety of vaccines.
“When Senator Lambert and I were growing up, autism did not exist. Many of you may know that some of the leading researchers in America say that autism is the result of vaccination.”
The Democrat checked off a list of reason why he believes that vaccinations may not be trustworthy, and could be poisonous to children.
“Tissue from aborted babies is now used in vaccines, vaccines use aluminum, which is a neurotoxin, vaccines in America are preserved often with mercury.”
U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor, spoke out against the claims, calling the research that linked vaccinations and autism “fake news” that is responsible for the resurgence of measles nationwide.
“The only person that found a linkage was kicked out of the scientific academy, if you will, because it was found that he falsified his data," Cassidy said. "Subsequently, every other investigation has shown that there is no link.”
Cassidy endorsed vaccinations. He says he’s seen patients who’ve had to have liver transplants that could have been prevented if they had received a hepatitis B vaccination. Cassidy added that unvaccinated people pose significant threats to the lives of at-risk children.
“If someone is not immunized exposes a child who is immunocompromised, someone who is on cancer or chemotherapy for example, to measles, that child whose immune system is destroyed by the chemotherapy is much more likely to die of measles.”