Bachmann's HPV woman probably doesn't exist

Republican Presidential Candidaten Michele Bachmann claimed after the CNN/Tea Party debate on Monday,on the ”Today” show, that a woman came up to her and told her that her daughter had become “mentally retarded” after being vaccinated against Genital human papillomavirus (HPV).

A few hours ago two doctors offered to pay more than $10 000 for proof of the woman’s claim and Bachmann’s assertions.

The doctors only want the medical records of the woman or child involved in the story but I’m taking it a bit further I doubt there ever was a woman!

Now, don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that people don’t make these types of claims all the times and politicians and public figures probably hear these types of stories more than psychiatrists! However, they tend to either dismiss the story or do their own private investigative work to see if their is any validity to the claims. And sometimes, where there is smoke there is fire. For instance, last year the US government issued an official apology to the Guatamalan government some 40 years after it was revealed that Guatamalan prisoners and mental health patients were intentionally infected with gonorrhea, syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Michele Bachmann supposedly repeated a story she had just heard from a woman, she had just met just after the CNN/Tea Party debate on Monday September 12th on a national television show the day after. I don’t think she’s that dumb. However, I do believe that she would take an issue that she knows could resonate and top it off with a wild accusation that feeds into the public distrust of public health inoculation programs, throw it at her main opponent Rick Perry and hope that it sticks.

She has said that she doesn’t know if this story is true, but putting aside the crazy accusations this ‘mystery woman’ made to Representative Bachamann and the examination of her records, I just would love for the Bachmann campaign to produce the woman that said it and allow her to be questioned by the media. I doubt they can. They can certainly produce many people who would make that claim but the actual person who told Michele Bachmann that story, right after the debate and with all the cameras around her I’m sure some photographer would’ve captured the exchange. So that would be proof.

I doubt that woman and her daughter will ever be found because they probably don’t exist.

And I’m not the only one who doubts Bachmann’s story either. Laura Curtis, a conservative blogger has now had a change of heart about about Bachmann and states on her blog, Pursuing Holiness, that Bachmann either, “lied or was incredibly stupid to repeat such a ridiculous story.” I don’t normally agree with conservatives but on this point I’m definitely nodding my head in agreement.