CORRECTION: An earlier headline and photo caption with this article did not identify the Canary Party and its president, Jennifer Larson, correctly. Neither she nor the group oppose all vaccinations. Rather, they are raising questions about vaccine safety and federal vaccine research.
The president of the Canary Party is scheduled to host a fundraiser next week in Minnesota for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's presidential campaign.
Jennifer Larson, who is the president of the Canary Party, is hosting a fundraiser featuring Paul at her home in Orono next Monday. Larson's belief that a measles shot was the cause of her son's autism was the focus of a Star Tribune story this past February.
Paul, who is a practicing ophthalmologist, was criticized earlier this year when he said in an interview in February with CNBC that he "heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines."
The day after his comments about vaccines, Paul tweeted a picture of himself receiving a booster vaccination for Hepatitis A. Paul also released a statement clarifying his remarks on CNBC, which said in part, "I support vaccines, I receive them myself and I had all of my children vaccinated."
According to their website, the Canary Party's name comes from the past use of canary birds to determine if levels of dangerous gases were present in underground mines.
The Canary Party's position paper states: "American children are over vaccinated and over medicated, over fed, undernourished and have record levels of chronic illness and developmental delay."
Former Saturday Night Live actor Rob Schneider is one of the most prominent supporters of the Canary Party and he narrated a video released by the Canary Party in 2013 about autism and vaccines.
In response to a request for comment, Larson declined to comment today about the event, but said she may be able to comment later this week.
The invite for Larson's fundraiser for Paul's campaign show tickets range in price from $5,400 to be a "Grand Host" to $100 for "Young Professionals."
Picture source: Feed Load – AP Photo/John Locher
