It seems even beloved Australian cartoonists are not immune to anti-vaccine sentiments that put emotion above science and public health.
On Wednesday, artist Michael Leunig published a cartoon in Melbourne's The Age newspaper that appeared to call new mandatory vaccine laws "fascist" for enforcing "mass medication" on children.
Leunig double downs. Anti-vaxers rejoice. pic.twitter.com/vPTjbYdbI5— TiPoole (@tip66) August 18, 2015
The Australian state of Victoria recently introduced "no jab, no play" laws that will come into effect in 2016. Under the regulations, pre-schoolers will not be allowed to attend child care or kindergarten unless they are vaccinated.
"It's not just in the interests of an individual child, but all of us," Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy told the ABC. "Our aim is not to exclude kids from early childhood services. Our aim is to get people immunised and we're going to use this as an incentive and a prompt."
The social media backlash to Leunig's latest piece was swift, with many asking why the newspaper published the cartoon at all.
Finding out Michael Leunig is anti-vacc is like that time Chris Evans was sexist. Yr favs are a big bummer.— Ellie | 김주혜 (@irrellievant) August 19, 2015
Funny how Leunig can't seem to draw people dying of vaccine preventable diseases, eh? #stopAVN pic.twitter.com/bjB1NXjZIO— 沈马修 (@shenmaxiu) August 18, 2015
.@theage how can you possibly print vile #Leunig antivax rants. The man has blood on his hands— Obgynkenobi (@obgynkenobi) August 19, 2015
JFC. Leunig declares the greatest advance in medical history to be 'fascism.' pic.twitter.com/67nPkOQGUa #getinthebin— Comrade Weez (@weezmgk) August 18, 2015
It's time for all Melburnians and Victorians to accept that Leunig has always been the voice of the truly bloody idiotic in our society— christian mccrea (@christianmccrea) August 18, 2015
every time michael leunig talks/draws/writes about his anti-vaccination stance i die— Lucy / cloudmelon (@citruspocket) August 19, 2015
This is what vaccine preventable disease looks like. Cartoon this Leunig. pic.twitter.com/x3ihG2t9fl— Dr Darren Saunders (@whereisdaz) August 18, 2015
The anti-vaccination views of the cartoonist, who has a prominent national platform in the newspaper, are not particularly secret.
In April, he published another controversial cartoon in The Age, which many interpreted as calling into question the love mothers have for their children if they do immunise them.
Note to Age: I'm sure Grandma loved my Uncle. But he was one of the 40,000 Australians who contracted paralytic polio pic.twitter.com/5NI8cyZSWv— Chris Uhlmann (@CUhlmann) April 15, 2015
The issue I have with #leunig's premise is that if you DO vaccinate, you're putting science over love. Wrong. I used science BECAUSE I love.— Johnny Worthington (@jworthington) April 15, 2015
In an interview with the ABC following the blow up, he called those who are pro-vaccination "belligerent" and "angry."
"For parents who have had grave doubts about immunisation, I just want to listen," he said. "To exile them, to punish them and cut them out is kind of a dangerous drift."
In a statement emailed to Mashable Australia, Leunig said his cartoon was not about the value of vaccines. "It is about the punitive deprivation and coercive authoritarian force being increasingly and systematically applied by Federal and State governments to parents who want choice in the matter," he wrote. "There is a human rights issue here that is deeply disturbing and worth talking about in a clear-headed way that is free of hostility and insult."
Updated: Wednesday, August 19 at 2.30 p.m. AEST with a statement from Michael Leunig.