Rep. Michele Bachmann on Thursday defended her comments on the consequences of the human papillomavirus vaccine.
"I think if you look at the debate, my point was very clear," Bachmann told reporters in San Rafael, Calif. "There was an abuse of power."
Bachmann had sparred with Texas Gov. Rick Perry about the vaccine during the Republican presidential debate on Monday. Perry signed an executive order requiring Texas schoolgirls to be injected with the vaccine.
But the Minnesota Republican's comments on the vaccine didn't end at the debate. She sparked controversy after the debate in a Fox News interview in which she said: "There's a woman who came up crying to me tonight after the debate. She said her daughter was given that vaccine.… She told me her daughter suffered mental retardation as a result. There are very dangerous consequences."
Doctors, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have come out against her comments, arguing that there is no science to back up her claims.
When asked if she would apologize for relaying the story about the young woman who was allegedly made ill from the vaccine, Bachmann said Thursday, "Oh, I'm not going to answer that." Watch video from CBS and National Journal's Sarah Huisenga:
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