Rick Perry Punched a Texas-Sized Hole Into the Vaccination Law

Olivia Nuzzi

As governor he signed into law an exemption "for reasons of conscience" when there had only been one for religion before.

As Rand Paul and Chris Christie have flailed out in the open on the topic of vaccinations, other potential Republican presidential candidates have stood back, taken note, and sprinted in the opposite direction.

One such politician is Rick Perry, former governor of Texas and current professional ice cream eater. On Tuesday, his spokesman, Travis Considine, said Perry “strongly believes in protecting life and has sought to improve the health and well-being of Texans in a variety of ways, including increased immunization rates.”

That’s not entirely accurate though.

While the number of immunized children rose from just 65 percent in 2002 to over 95 percent in 2014 (according to the Texas Department of State Health Services), there has been a 100 percent increase in the number of parents choosing to opt-out of vaccinations over "conscience.” That’s because Perry signed a bill as governor giving that option to anti-vax parents.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/04/rick-perry-signed-into-law-a-conscience-exemption-for-vaccines.html