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The anti-vaccine movement was once a fringe movement, but in the past two or so years it has entered the political mainstream, specifically within the Republican Party.

GOP critics are quick to cite the anti-vax movement within the party as further evidence of the party’s science denial, backwardness, or whatever other insult they want to throw. But that is sheer party polemics, and does not do much to explain why the anti-vxx movement should gain traction.

A recent Politico piece goes a long way towards explaining the appeal of the anti-vax movement within the GOP. Essentially, the piece argues that the anti-vax movement appeals to the libertarian vein of the Republican Party by challenging the government’s authority to prescribe medical treatments for children. The executive director of the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition, Stephanie Wasserman, explains, “The antivax messaging has shifted from a focus on questions of safety to things like parental rights and data privacy, and those messages resonate more with conservative lawmakers and play to the GOP political base.”

But there are very real consequences for this movement. There are now 940 confirmed cases of measles in the United States. This is the worst outbreak since 1994, and this outbreak is not over.

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