Iowa lawmaker stands by 'pharma fascist' description of supporter of vaccine requirements

An Iowa state representative is standing by inflammatory comments he made online suggesting that a supporter of required vaccines is a "pharma fascist."

Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Fairfield, replied to one of California state Sen. Richard Pan's tweets about vaccinations Saturday and continued to tweet about the subject Sunday. Shipley first called Pan "a medical rapist" before apologizing for the term and saying that "pharma fascist" or "corporate vaccine whore" would have been more appropriate terms.

"You're threatening peaceful families with the violence of the state. You're the violent one... using the FORCE of law to administer injections without consent. You're a medical rapist," Shipley replied to Pan on Twitter. "If you back someone in a corner don't be surprised if they lash out in self-defense."

Shipley then wrote or retweeted several more statements critical of supporters of vaccine requirements, and followed up with another tweet about Pan, who has written laws limiting parents' ability to opt out of vaccinating their school-age children and strengthening oversight of medical exemptions from vaccines.

"Basically @DrPanMD accepts gigantic contributions from industry then writes laws guaranteeing massive profits. Perhaps 'pharma fascist' or 'corporate vaccine whore' would have been more precise. I'm deeply sorry Senator Pan for my previous description of you," Shipley wrote on Twitter.

In an interview with the Des Moines Register on Monday, Shipley said the use of the term "fascist" was appropriate.

"To me, the definition of fascism is the merger of state and corporate power, so where you get, like, the military-industrial complex, where government military contracts are going to these private corporations," he said.

He argued the same situation is true with vaccination laws.

"We have politicians passing laws that guarantee certain industries are going to be extremely profitable," he said.

Pan, a pediatrician who also has a master's in public health, said language like Shipley's is not unheard of in the anti-vaccine community. But he said those words can turn into violence. In August, he was walking down the street when he was shoved by an anti-vaccine activist who was charged with assault for the incident.

"You’re trying to justify violence against physicians and people are trying to promote public health," he said.

"You’re basically saying, if someone lashes out at you, that’s okay because you cornered them," Pan added.

Pan retweeted several people who described Shipley's comments as "dangerous" and used the hashtag #StopAntiVaxViolence in several tweets. He also tweeted Shipley's comments at several Iowa news organizations, including the Register. The Register saw Shipley's tweets independently of Pan.

Asked if his apology to Pan was sincere, Shipley told the Register that he wouldn't use the term "medical rapist" to describe Pan again.

"It’s a sincere apology in the sense that I’m not going to use that term again," he said. "Yeah, he’s not the one literally holding someone down and forcing a medical intervention into their arm."

He said he doesn't know if rape is the appropriate word to describe required vaccines, but he retweeted several people who agreed with his use of the term to describe vaccine requirements.

"How else do you describe it?" he said. "What other words can you use to describe someone being overwhelmed and overpowered and having their bodily autonomy violated?"

Pan said Shipley's comments diminish actual instances of rape and dehumanize the people he's talking about by equating them with violent criminals.

"When you say someone’s a rapist, what are you actually asking people in the community to do to someone who’s a rapist?" Pan said.

Shipley said that none of his tweets were intended to endorse violence. He described himself as a practicing Catholic and a student of Mohandas Gandhi.

He said his job as a politician is to make sure his constituents' concerns about vaccine requirements are being heard.

Nathan Boonstra, a Des Moines pediatrician, said that "there really isn't a more debunked idea than vaccines causing autism." He also said doctors do not administer vaccines to children without parents' consent.

"We immunize tens of millions of children a year, and so sometimes something is going to follow a vaccine just by chance. It doesn’t mean that the vaccine caused it," he said. "And that’s why we need studies to look at these things — when it comes to vaccines and autism, that’s been studied many times; people are looking for a connection and no connection was found."

Shipley said he wanted to raise awareness about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a federal reporting system that individuals can use to describe any adverse effects they experience as a result of vaccinations. Health care providers are also required to report certain events to VAERS.

Boonstra said when doctors administer vaccines, they are required by law to provide patients with the Vaccine Information Statement, which includes information about the benefits and risks of vaccines. The statement also includes information about VAERS, he said. And simply because a condition is reported to VAERS does not mean that the vaccine caused that condition, he said.

► More: Meet the Iowa GOP lawmaker who wants to decriminalize psychedelic drugs for medicinal use

Shipley sponsored a bill in the Iowa House this year that would have expanded exemptions for required childhood vaccinations if the shots conflicted with "conscientiously held beliefs." The bill did not pass, and a similar measure died in the Iowa Senate.

While he's interested in continuing that conversation, Shipley said the legislation is not necessarily going to be a priority for him in 2020.

Iowa law already allows exemptions from vaccinations for medical reasons, such as if a child is allergic to a shot, or for religious reasons, which need not be specified.

Shipley said he wasn't expecting all the attention his tweets received.

"To be totally honest, I didn’t actually — I didn’t really think a whole lot before saying that because, on my Twitter, I typically just say things and no one notices," he said.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

Your subscription makes our journalism possible. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.