By oracknows on April 28, 2015. I've written on multiple occasions of what I like to refer to as "antivaccine dog whistles." In politics, the term "dog whistle" refers to things politicians can say to certain groups, usually groups with odious views, that they are with them without actually echoing the views for which the group at which the dog whistle is aimed. The intended target audience gets the message, while those not familiar with the issues either don't get the message or see what is being said as something unobjectionable, even admirable. Think "states' rights" versus civil rights, for example. It turns out that antivaccinationists have their own dog whistles. Used most prominently recently by the antivaccine pediatrician "Dr. Bob" Sears and by candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination Rand Paul, antivaccine dog whistles generally involve appeals to "health freedom," the "freedom" not to be injected with medicines, and, of course, "parents' rights." Unfortunately, in practice, what antivaccinationists mean is that parental rights trump the child's right to receive the recommended standard of science-based medical care with respect to preventative care. Indeed, Rand Paul even went so far as to answer a question about this issue by saying, "The state doesn’t own the children. Parents own the children, and it is an issue of freedom."