From The LA Times:
If there is something everyone can agree on, it would seem that the idea that rape can result in unwanted pregnancy would be right up there at the top of the list.
Not so in Missouri, where the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate on Sunday advanced the theory that the female reproductive system shuts down when a woman is being raped, thus preventing conception.
Rep. Todd Akin, a tea party candidate who is challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in the closely watched race, was asked in a local television interview about whether he supports access to abortion in the case of rape.
"If abortion could be considered in case of, say, a tubal pregnancy [which threatens the mother’s life], what about in the case of rape?" asked KTVI host Charles Jaco, in a clip that was disseminated by Talking Points Memo. "Should it be legal or not?"
"It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare,” Akin said, referring to conception following a rape. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something, I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child."
I honestly don't know where to start with this one. I'm not sure if it's the "legitimate rape" thing or the "female body has ways to shut that whole thing down" that bothers me more. Is this guy just a run of the mill misogynist willingly passing on flawed info? Or is he that ignorant of the female body that he thinks that's really how it works? Or is he just a lying, pandering, bullshitting, tealiban-esque asshat like the rest?
I really don't know the answer to that question - but here's what I do know.
If rape happens, it is by definition legitimate. If a pregnancy occurs from that rape - what happens from that point on is the woman's decision. Period. I realize that these tea party types think that Goldman Sachs or Exxon should not be regulated, but my uterus is up for discussion.
Representative Akin, should slink out of public life - back under the rock he came out from under. I hope the women in his life shame him for not only his arrogance, but his ignorance. And the Voters of Missouri - Seriously - this kind of nonsense has to be a deal breaker. (Of course, at least he didn't say they should have planned to be raped - ya know like you plan for a flat tire).
Honestly, if there was a way that the human mind could wish hard enough not to get pregnant - I'm sure we would have A LOT less unplanned pregnancies...
If you haven't seen the video - here ya go.
If there is something everyone can agree on, it would seem that the idea that rape can result in unwanted pregnancy would be right up there at the top of the list.
Not so in Missouri, where the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate on Sunday advanced the theory that the female reproductive system shuts down when a woman is being raped, thus preventing conception.
Rep. Todd Akin, a tea party candidate who is challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in the closely watched race, was asked in a local television interview about whether he supports access to abortion in the case of rape.
"If abortion could be considered in case of, say, a tubal pregnancy [which threatens the mother’s life], what about in the case of rape?" asked KTVI host Charles Jaco, in a clip that was disseminated by Talking Points Memo. "Should it be legal or not?"
"It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare,” Akin said, referring to conception following a rape. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something, I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child."
I honestly don't know where to start with this one. I'm not sure if it's the "legitimate rape" thing or the "female body has ways to shut that whole thing down" that bothers me more. Is this guy just a run of the mill misogynist willingly passing on flawed info? Or is he that ignorant of the female body that he thinks that's really how it works? Or is he just a lying, pandering, bullshitting, tealiban-esque asshat like the rest?
I really don't know the answer to that question - but here's what I do know.
If rape happens, it is by definition legitimate. If a pregnancy occurs from that rape - what happens from that point on is the woman's decision. Period. I realize that these tea party types think that Goldman Sachs or Exxon should not be regulated, but my uterus is up for discussion.
Representative Akin, should slink out of public life - back under the rock he came out from under. I hope the women in his life shame him for not only his arrogance, but his ignorance. And the Voters of Missouri - Seriously - this kind of nonsense has to be a deal breaker. (Of course, at least he didn't say they should have planned to be raped - ya know like you plan for a flat tire).
Honestly, if there was a way that the human mind could wish hard enough not to get pregnant - I'm sure we would have A LOT less unplanned pregnancies...
If you haven't seen the video - here ya go.
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