Rep. Todd Akin: No pregnancy from 'legitimate rape'

norm

https://twitter.com/ToddAkin/status/238063720683696130

Hugh Freaking Dillon

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

just to play devil's advocate.....

the republican party is made up of a majority of christians. christians are supposed to be forgiving and accepting. so why are the gop party leaders not forgiving him? isn't forgiving him what jesus would say to do?

oh come on gimmie! even I can see through that one!

Who Princess

pandora wrote:

I support choice even if I think it can be the wrong one but even in the case of rape
would hope the decision would be weighed heavily. A pill removes the love and joy
many can know, a light from a very dark place, and it can be taken in a moment of trauma
without consideration for mother or child.

Choices make or break our lives, it's all up to us.

Pandora, the pill given to rape victims doesn't abort a child. It prevents conception from occurring. There is no child to consider at that point.

pandora

Who Princess wrote:

pandora wrote:

I support choice even if I think it can be the wrong one but even in the case of rape
would hope the decision would be weighed heavily. A pill removes the love and joy
many can know, a light from a very dark place, and it can be taken in a moment of trauma
without consideration for mother or child.

Choices make or break our lives, it's all up to us.

Pandora, the pill given to rape victims doesn't abort a child. It prevents conception from occurring. There is no child to consider at that point.

thank you Who Princess I was aware and makes many feel better...

pandora

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

just to play devil's advocate.....

the republican party is made up of a majority of christians. christians are supposed to be forgiving and accepting. so why are the gop party leaders not forgiving him? isn't forgiving him what jesus would say to do?

oh come on gimmie! even I can see through that one!

What bothers me is the ostracizing, mostly because
as others have mentioned here, the platform includes this topic so it is a matter of
his personal beliefs and presentation. He apologized, he explained. Admits he was wrong
but of course stands by his extremist pro life agenda.

Not sure what Jesus would do or say in this situation, not knowing him,
but I have a feeling he would be pro life.

polaris_x

i think the other main issue here that i don't think has been discussed is this guy is on the house committee on science ... :fp: ... this is why so many people are out to lunch on issues related to stem cells, global warming and health ... guys like that get appointed to positions without the knowledge simply to placate industry and corporations ...

Who Princess

I've been so bothered by Akin's comment that I've had trouble expressing it. I agree with the things that other people have said about the ignorance behind it. For all that he said about "misspeaking" I think that he actually believes what he was saying or he wouldn't have said it. Besides, I've heard similar comments before but not for many years, so I really thought we'd moved past that kind of thinking.

It's not just his ignorance of basic biology or the crazy term "legitimate." It's the suggestion that some women are victimized while others are not. That there are degrees of sexual assault that result in different consequences (for the victim, not the assailant). That some women, in a sense, "deserve" what happened to them. That bad things don't happen to "good people, the people I know and care about."

Many years ago, I was a rape crisis volunteer. The women (and children) that I saw at the hospital still haunt me. Their lives were changed forever. During one year that I volunteered, 3 young women who became pregnant as a result of their rapes committed suicide. I don't know how people can't comprehend what a terrible crime this is.

In a strange and timely coincidence, my local newspaper just ran a 3 part series on acquaintance rape. It began on Sunday, the day Akin made his comments. In the county where I live, less than half the cases of acquaintance rape referred to the grand jury result in indictments. Lots of finger pointing as to the reasons but I found it very disturbing.

It's a long read but it's a good series: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/08/19 ... ounty.html I was particularly impressed with the segment on who is the acquaintance rapist and the interview with a former detective. Lots of insight into how these crimes happen, and yes, they are "legitimate" rapes.

comebackgirl

Who Princess wrote:

I've been so bothered by Akin's comment that I've had trouble expressing it. I agree with the things that other people have said about the ignorance behind it. For all that he said about "misspeaking" I think that he actually believes what he was saying or he wouldn't have said it. Besides, I've heard similar comments before but not for many years, so I really thought we'd moved past that kind of thinking.

It's not just his ignorance of basic biology or the crazy term "legitimate." It's the suggestion that some women are victimized while others are not. That there are degrees of sexual assault that result in different consequences (for the victim, not the assailant). That some women, in a sense, "deserve" what happened to them. That bad things don't happen to "good people, the people I know and care about."

Many years ago, I was a rape crisis volunteer. The women (and children) that I saw at the hospital still haunt me. Their lives were changed forever. During one year that I volunteered, 3 young women who became pregnant as a result of their rapes committed suicide. I don't know how people can't comprehend what a terrible crime this is.

In a strange and timely coincidence, my local newspaper just ran a 3 part series on acquaintance rape. It began on Sunday, the day Akin made his comments. In the county where I live, less than half the cases of acquaintance rape referred to the grand jury result in indictments. Lots of finger pointing as to the reasons but I found it very disturbing.

It's a long read but it's a good series: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/08/19 ... ounty.html I was particularly impressed with the segment on who is the acquaintance rapist and the interview with a former detective. Lots of insight into how these crimes happen, and yes, they are "legitimate" rapes.

Thank you for that link and for your words.

My center is hosting a rape crisis training this week. This has proved to be quite the lively discussion for a passionate group of women.

blackredyellow

polaris_x wrote:

i think the other main issue here that i don't think has been discussed is this guy is on the house committee on science ... :fp: ... this is why so many people are out to lunch on issues related to stem cells, global warming and health ... guys like that get appointed to positions without the knowledge simply to placate industry and corporations ...

oh boy...

Johnny Abruzzo

blackredyellow wrote:

polaris_x wrote:

i think the other main issue here that i don't think has been discussed is this guy is on the house committee on science ... :fp: ... this is why so many people are out to lunch on issues related to stem cells, global warming and health ... guys like that get appointed to positions without the knowledge simply to placate industry and corporations ...

oh boy...

Sounds about right for the modern day GOP and its stances on science.

Who Princess

comebackgirl wrote:

Thank you for that link and for your words.

My center is hosting a rape crisis training this week. This has proved to be quite the lively discussion for a passionate group of women.

Sounds like another interesting coincidence! Hope your training goes well. Being a rape crisis volunteer was one of the most gratifying things I've ever done.

gimmesometruth27

interesting timing....

Akin controversy may endanger GOP chances in the fall

Congressman's remarks on rape focuses attention on party's abortion agenda

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48746747/ns ... sr=(direct)|utmccn=(direct)|utmcmd=(none)&__utmv=14933801.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7Ccover=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www.nbcnews.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Earned%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=174223778

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
New York Times

updated 8/22/2012 12:01:48 AM ET

WASHINGTON — As an orator, Representative Todd Akin of Missouri may stand out for his clumsiness. But as a legislator, Mr. Akin has a record on abortion that is largely indistinguishable from those of most of his Republican House colleagues, who have viewed restricting abortion rights as one of their top priorities.

That agenda — largely eclipsed for two years by a protracted fiscal crisis and the fight over how to manage the federal deficit — has wedged its way, for now at least, to the center of the 2012 campaign. It is focusing attention on an issue that helped earn Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, a reputation as a flip-flopper, threatening the Republican quest for control of the Senate, and leaving Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, Mr. Romney’s vice-presidential pick, in the uncomfortable position of distinguishing himself from Mr. Akin, with whom he has often concurred.

It is an agenda that has enjoyed the support of House leaders, including Speaker John A. Boehner and Representative Eric Cantor, the majority leader, who has called anti-abortion measures “obviously very important in terms of the priorities we set out initially in our pledge to America.” It became inextricably linked to the near-shutdown of the federal government last year when an agreement to keep the government open was reached only after it was linked to a measure restricting abortion in the District of Columbia.

Even as Congressional Republicans, including Mr. Boehner, denounced Mr. Akin’s remark that victims of “legitimate rape” were able to somehow prevent pregnancy, an agenda to roll back abortion is one that House Republicans have largely moved in step with.

In an anti-abortion measure once sponsored by Mr. Akin, Mr. Ryan and scores of other Republican lawmakers, an exemption was made for victims of “forcible” rape, though that word was later removed.

On Tuesday, Republicans approved platform language for next week’s nominating convention that calls for a constitutional amendment outlawing abortion with no explicit exceptions for cases of rape or incest. That is a view more restrictive than Mr. Romney’s, who has said that he supports exceptions to allow abortions in cases of rape.

Mr. Ryan’s more conservative views, which have been reflected in votes that would restrict family planning financing overseas, cut off all federal funds to Planned Parenthood and repeal President Obama’s health care law, have come into sharp relief as Mr. Akin struggles for his political life. Mr. Akin and Mr. Ryan each have voted in this Congress for 10 abortion-restricting measures as well as those that limited other family planning services.

Both Mr. Ryan and Mr. Romney have earned praise for their positions from the National Right to Life group and other anti-abortion organizations. “The right-to-life Romney/Ryan ticket is now complete,” wrote Barbara Lyons and Sue Armacost, executive director and legislative director for Wisconsin Right to Life, on the organization’s Web site.

It is a legislative theme Democrats plan to highlight, even as House Republicans try to keep the focus on economic issues.

“All you need to know is that the House Republicans were willing to shut down the government rather than fund Planned Parenthood,” said Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, in an e-mail on Tuesday. “This is in keeping with their efforts — whether it’s Congressman Akin or Chairman Ryan or others — to deny investments in critical women’s health services, weaken the definition of rape, and take away access to preventive care like cervical and breast cancer screenings.”

The House Republican agenda has troubled the half-dozen or so Republican House members whose views differ from those of their colleagues.

“I have time and again spoken out against this to leadership,” said Representative Robert Dold of Illinois, who is in a tough re-election battle. “I’ve tried to talk to them about the issues that we ought to be moving forward on, like out-of-control spending.”

Mr. Dold has voted in favor of half of the abortion restriction measures in this Congress, far fewer than most of his colleagues. “There is no question that there are times when I may disagree with a vote that’s brought to the floor,” he said in an interview, “and the majority of my Republican colleagues, but that is just part of what we deal with every day.”

There have long been lawmakers, like Mr. Akin, whose main legislative agenda centers on the abortion issue. They got a boost after the 2010 election when a large group of conservative members joined them.

Mr. Romney’s views align with that of the Mormon Church, which opposes abortion except in cases of rape and incest or when the life of the woman is in danger. He has said he is personally opposed to abortion; as a Mormon bishop in the 1980s he attempted to talk a congregant out of terminating a pregnancy after doctors advised her to do so because of a potentially lethal blood clot.

But abortion has proved to be a politically volatile topic for Mr. Romney, whose evolving views have disappointed liberals and stirred distrust among conservatives.

In 1994, when he challenged Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Mr. Romney said he would “not force our beliefs on others on that matter.” In 2002, as a candidate for governor, he claimed to support “the substance” of Roe v. Wade. By 2005, though, when he was beginning to consider a presidential run, he had reversed course and described himself as a “pro-life governor in a pro-choice state.” Now, as a presidential candidate, he refers to himself as solidly “pro-life.”

Aides to Mr. Romney declined to say on Tuesday whether he would call on the convention delegates to reconsider their position on abortion.

Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, tried to deflect questions on behalf of Mr. Romney, saying on Fox News that “this is the platform of theRepublican Party; it is not the platform of Mitt Romney.”

The idea of outlawing any exceptions for abortion is not new in American political discourse or in legislation, nor are proposals to narrow the definition of rape to distinguish between what some call “forcible rape” and cases involving statutory rape or even some types of date rape. Anti-abortion activists have long been concerned that women would falsely claim to have been raped to gain an exemption to terminate a pregnancy.

Historians and other experts on abortion politics say the no-exceptions idea became part of the debate virtually as soon as Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973. “It has deep roots,” said Donald Critchlow, a historian at Arizona State University who has studied abortion politics. He added, “It’s appealing to segments within the Republican Party to show that you’re pro-life.”

Susan Cohen, director of government affairs for the Guttmacher Institute, a research group in Washington that supports abortion rights, said the no-exceptions idea is “not new and it’s not fringe.”

“It is something that has been part of mainstream anti-abortion movement,” she said. “The record is replete with evidence of the fact that there was this no-exceptions attitude, and of course this makes logical sense from the perspective of people who believe an embryo should have the same legal status as you and I do.”

In the 1992 election, the Republican Party included in its platform language opposing abortion, allowing no exceptions and calling for a constitutional amendment to make abortion illegal. Similar language opposing any exceptions was included in 2000 and 2004, even though George W. Bush also supported outlawing abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the woman was in danger.

Four years ago, the Republican Party adopted a platform seeking an unconditional ban on abortion, though its nominee, Senator John McCain, had urged the party in the past to allow certain exceptions. After this year’s abortion plank language was approved with little debate, the chairman of the platform committee, Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia, praised the committee for “affirming our respect for human life.”

Jason P

Well, the official damage report is in. Four days (seems like four weeks to me) after his comments, Akin has lost 13% of the voter poll and now trails his opponent by 10 points.

http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-todd-akin-missouri-senate-rape-legitimate-claire-mccaskill-2012-8

mikepegg44

Jason P wrote:

Well, the official damage report is in. Four days (seems like four weeks to me) after his comments, Akin has lost 13% of the voter poll and now trails his opponent by 10 points.

http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-todd-akin-missouri-senate-rape-legitimate-claire-mccaskill-2012-8

I think McCaskill should play little red school house and she would still win by 10 points.

Zoso

was going to post this from CNN yesterday...

check mate on those who believe in no abortion with no exceptions.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=194569

Karmaholic1

mikepegg44 wrote:

Jason P wrote:

Well, the official damage report is in. Four days (seems like four weeks to me) after his comments, Akin has lost 13% of the voter poll and now trails his opponent by 10 points.

http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-todd-akin-missouri-senate-rape-legitimate-claire-mccaskill-2012-8

I think McCaskill should play little red school house and she would still win by 10 points.

Here's a very moving letter to Akin from a survivor.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eve-ensle ... 12930.html
Damage is done--politically and personally. I would hope for a ripple effect in the election, though not holding my breath.

Halifax2TheMax

Mike Huckabee needs to go to Syria and experience what fighting for an ideal or democracy or "rights" is really about before he spouts off on how Akin was thrown under the bus by his party. Really? Run over by a tank? Please. Fucking CHICKEN HAWK.

Peace.

cincybearcat

Zoso wrote:

was going to post this from CNN yesterday...

check mate on those who believe in no abortion with no exceptions.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=194569

Ummm, checkmate? Because of that article? I don't get it.

comebackgirl

In case anyone is still questioning the *science* Akin espoused about "what he's been told by doctors"

http://www.acog.org/About_ACOG/News_Roo ... A.facebook


The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Statement on Rape and Pregnancy

August 20, 2012

Washington, DC -- Recent remarks by a member of the US House of Representatives suggesting that “women who are victims of ‘legitimate rape’ rarely get pregnant” are medically inaccurate, offensive, and dangerous.

Each year in the US, 10,000–15,000 abortions occur among women whose pregnancies are a result of reported rape or incest. An unknown number of pregnancies resulting from rape are carried to term. There is absolutely no veracity to the claim that “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.” A woman who is raped has no control over ovulation, fertilization, or implantation of a fertilized egg (ie, pregnancy). To suggest otherwise contradicts basic biological truths.

Any person forced to submit to sexual intercourse against his or her will is the victim of rape, a heinous crime. There are no varying degrees of rape. To suggest otherwise is inaccurate and insulting and minimizes the serious physical and psychological repercussions for all victims of rape.

Who Princess

comebackgirl wrote:

In case anyone is still questioning the *science* Akin espoused about "what he's been told by doctors"

http://www.acog.org/About_ACOG/News_Roo ... A.facebook


The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Statement on Rape and Pregnancy

August 20, 2012

Washington, DC -- Recent remarks by a member of the US House of Representatives suggesting that “women who are victims of ‘legitimate rape’ rarely get pregnant” are medically inaccurate, offensive, and dangerous.

Each year in the US, 10,000–15,000 abortions occur among women whose pregnancies are a result of reported rape or incest. An unknown number of pregnancies resulting from rape are carried to term. There is absolutely no veracity to the claim that “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.” A woman who is raped has no control over ovulation, fertilization, or implantation of a fertilized egg (ie, pregnancy). To suggest otherwise contradicts basic biological truths.

Any person forced to submit to sexual intercourse against his or her will is the victim of rape, a heinous crime. There are no varying degrees of rape. To suggest otherwise is inaccurate and insulting and minimizes the serious physical and psychological repercussions for all victims of rape.

Incredible that such a statement even needs to be issued.