Good Lord. This reminds me of Obama selling his government-run health care legislation by telling sob stories about doctors supposedly stealing limbs. All you can do is groan.

“I will tell you that I had a mother last night come up to me here in Tampa, Fla., after the debate. She told me that her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter,” Bachmann said.

She continued: “The mother was crying what she came up to me last night. I didn’t know who she was before the debate. This is the very real concern and people have to draw their own conclusions.”

I’ve seen no hard evidence offered that Gardasil actually causes mental retardation. Anti-vaccination groups have assailed the drug, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves of its usage. The National Cancer Institute, which helped develop the drug, says Gardasil is “highly effective” at preventing infections that cause cervical and anal cancer.

Could the story be true? Sure. Ever read the warning label on even over-the-counter medicine? Individuals have adverse reactions to medicine all of the time. That’s why warning labels can be longer than the Declaration of Independence. Hell, Advil can cause swelling of the throat, hives, coughing up of blood, severe headaches, chest pain, seizures, severe vomiting, intense allergic reactions, and slurring of speech.

Does that mean most or even a significant portion of Advil users experience those side effects? Of course not. Most people take Advil and it works. Just like most people who utilize Gardasil don’t suffer from mental retardation afterward.

Bachmann is trying to suggest that Rick Perry forced girls to take vaccinations that cause mental retardation. Yet she has no evidence that Gardasil causes mental retardation, and she  has no expertise that would convincingly challenge the findings of the FDA and National Cancer Institute.

This is an unconfirmed sob story that could scare parents away from a legitimate medical practice. Bachmann should be ashamed of herself. Just because she likes to call herself “doctor” doesn’t mean she’s actually one.