Bioethicist Bets Bachmann $10,000 She’s a Lunatic

Scientists are calling Bachmann's bluff after her controversial public claim that the HPV vaccine causes mental retardation.

A bioethicist has offered Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachman over $10,000 to access the “medical records” she cited in the latest HPV vaccine controversy. Bachmann claimed Monday at the Republican debate that the Gardasil HPV vaccine, which protects against a leading cause of cervical cancer, can cause mental retardation. But this isn’t the first time Bachmann has entirely fabricated “facts” for political expedience. According to PolitiFact.com, a Web site devoted to fact-checking claims made by US politicians, she lies more than anyone else running for office, with only 14% of the 35 statements checked ranking as true or even “mostly true.” Famously, Bachmann has also falsely claimed that the Founding Fathers were devoted to eradicating slavery in the United States (not so much), that her husband didn’t earn anything from farm subsidies, and that she'd be a good presidential candidate.