http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/375155/20120819/todd-akin-missouri-senate-legitimate-rape-abortion.htm

Rep. Todd Akin, Republican nominee for Senate in Missouri, said in a television interview on Sunday that abortion should not be legal even in cases of rape because victims of "legitimate rape" will very rarely become pregnant.

Akin, a congressman who is running to unseat first-term Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., appeared on St. Louis' KTVI-TV to promote his campaign. He discussed his position on abortion, stating that he believes abortion is acceptable when the mother's life is threatened.

When asked to discuss his view on abortion in cases of rape, Akins state that "legitimate rape" very rarely results in pregnancies because women have biological defenses to stop themselves from conceiving.

"First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare," Akin told KTVI-TV. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

"Let's assume that maybe that didn't work, or something," Akin continued. "I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."

McCaskill responded quickly with the statement, "It is beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape. The ideas that Todd Akin has expressed about the serious crime of rape and the impact on its victims are offensive."

Akin never clarified exactly what a "legitimate rape" consists of, nor did he cite any scientific examples to back up his statements that women rarely become pregnant in the case of rape.

Talking Points Memo points to a 1996 study published in the American Journal of Obstetricians and Gynecologists which sates that "rape-related pregnancy occurs with significant frequency." The study estimates that "32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year."

Recent polls place Akin ahead of McCaskill by 49.7 to 41.3 percent. The latest polls show McCaskill's numbers taking a large dive. The race's outcome could determine control of the Senate.

He later claimed to have "misspoke" but has not actually issued a real apology. This has also angered his supporters, who now think that he should give up the Republican nomination to someone else because he "blew" getting what should have been "an easy seat for us"... no outrage at what he actually said, just that it blew his election chances.

Oh my God, what a freaking moron. Seriously, pretty much anytime someone says something as vague as "from what I understand from doctors", it is bull crap. He didn't give any doctor's name or refer to a specific study because he either pulled it out of his *** or read it 'on the internet'. What's next? You can't get STDs from rape because your body blocks it during the stress? Think of it. If this is what you want gullible teenagers to hear, it will be on the news that teen couples are trying to rape each other as a form of safe sex. "Don't worry babe. If I sneak up on you when you don't know I'm around and surprise you, you won't get pregnant". DUMB***!

"Don't worry babe. If I sneak up on you when you don't know I'm around and surprise you, you won't get pregnant". DUMB***!



HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

That was awesome.
rcarter2 : you rule!

As for the article, I said this on Elara's facebook as well.... I tried to be open-minded when I read the article but the more I read the more I realized this guy is full of crap. There is nothing worse than approaching an issue like abortion with a lie (or "misspeaking")

Yeah. One of my friends posted about it sounded so outlandish that I asked to see a source... then I saw it and was dumbfounded. This man is running for Senate! He is currently in the House of Representatives, and he actually said that on live television!

This guy is just a moron. I mean someone this stupid has no business being in public office. Sounds more like he needs to go back and take a 6th grade health class to learn about the female reproductive system. Guy is a freakin lunatic

i dislike the term, legitimate rape, its very misleading.
Equaly it seems he uses it to insinuate most claims of rape are false, equaly offensive.
The fact people are voting for him dosent help our view in europe of american politics either.
Maybe he was watching a nature program.
Ducks can prevent pregnancy, and elephants can abort them

I have learned a new thing about ducks this day. Thank you, thenumberone.

thenumberone : It isn't all American Politics. Just the radically conservative Republicans Naw, I'll admit that the radical Democrats are just as nuts. The ones who are in between are the more sensible ones. Problem is, they aren't the super vocal ones.

I can't remember where I read that the # of pregnancies from rape is about 5%.

I'm not defending the guy but if only 5% of the time there is unprotected sex from rape that results in pregnancy then what he said might not have been wrong. I'm not saying I know one way or the other. He still could have been a bit smarter about the way he presented this argument.

It sounded like a round about way of defending an anti-abortion point of view the more I've thought about it. I'm not sure where he got the idea though. Seems like a really strange way to go about it. And he's not likely to get much support for not allowing abortions from rape. I can't imagine too many people who would argue that.

5% is actually a significantly high number... that is just over 32,000 pregnancies a year resulting from rape (and that number comes from adult women, not the teens that get raped).

But yeah... Akin is one of the ones that sponsored that bill to redefine rape awhile back along with Paul Ryan.

Give the guy a break... a condom break and get him pregnant

JigSaw : Not going to lie, I snickered at that.

So, there is a whole hullaballoo now as to if Akin should drop out. Several Republicans want him to because they think he's blown the election (the only thing they care about). Akin maintains he did nothing "morally wrong" so he shouldn't have to. Personally, I think he did nothing "legally wrong" by making the comment ... and I think that he should stay in the race.

However, I admit that my own feelings are somewhat biased. There is a growing trend amongst the vocal ultra radical right to adopt this kind of thinking... the "legitimate rape" thing... because it fuels their anti-abortion hatred. With all of the bills and such that these people have sponsored in the last few years to limit women's rights you would think that people would have noticed... but they haven't. They've been very good at using words and deflections to hide their actual thoughts on the matter... and here Akin, one of the big sponsors of these bills, goes and actually says it... on television no less. And there is the backlash of anger and shock that he could think that, which should TOTALLY be there, because what he said was disgusting and reprehensible. I only hope that this encourages others to take a closer look at the rest of the people sponsoring these bills (like Paul Ryan) and question if their believes are any different.

I think the guy was stupid, but he deserves his chance at running for the seat.

...also I don't think the "legitimate rape" comments were insinuating that there's some kind of illegitimate rape, but that rape had occurred.

Just as an aside, until you've experienced being falsely accused of rape you will never fully understand why some people still talk about fake claims. I would never seek to discredit someone who's making a legal complaint about rape, but in my personal experience I have been investigated and cleared of rape (by local police and Interpol). I know it's a horrible thing to talk about, but false claims do exist.

Blessedj01 : That's not the subject here. The main subject here is that 1. They are trying to take away the ability for a woman to choose if she wants an abortion if she gets pregnant from rape. and 2. That a person who is running for an important public office is not very intelligent.

Jordanv78 : Really? I thought the subject was his comments.

I don't think he's unintelligent, but those comments probably were. Either way 'unintelligent' people in office is nothing new.

Blessedj01 : Actually the "legitimate rape" thing echos back to an earlier thing that Akin along with Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan did... there was a bill that sought to redefine rape so that "legitimate" rape meant "forcible" rape... meaning that if a woman was slipped a drug in her drink that made her pass out, was violated while unconscious so that she could not fight back, that would not be considered rape. Only if you were fighting back, and forced down would it be rape... and the purpose of that legislation was to cut federal funding for abortions for rape victims. The bill did not pass.

False claims of rape exist, but that is not what Mr. Akin was talking about.

Elara : I have a hard time believing that anybody would create such a bill and seek to redefine rape for that purpose. I would like to see some proof that that was the actual intention of the bill and not just a politicized interpretation.

Yea, Akin is crazy. Politics is a mess anyway. If anyone wants to do any crazy reading just let me know. I tend to be on the outside of all this, some may call it a theorist...but hey, its just name-calling on an adult scale...


...wait...this just in...legitimate food doesn't make you fat.

Blessedj01 : Well, the bill (H.R. 3) was actually titled the No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act... so I am pretty sure that this isn't a politicized interpretation.