Are we supposed to be surprised by this sort of insanity anymore?
As Think Progress notes, this is par for the course with Akin who is now actually leading in the polls against the Democratic incumbent, Claire McCaskill, for the Senate Seat in Missouri. Akin not only opposes all abortions, including those that happen as a result of rape and incest, but he is also wants to ban emergency contraception and is very concerned that marital rape laws could provide women “a legal weapon to beat up on the husband”. The good people at TP also included this nice little statistic that Mr. Akin has apparently ignored during his time as a legislator:
“The national rape-related pregnancy rate is 5.0% per rape among victims of reproductive age (aged 12 to 45); among adult women an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year.”
The crusade against women having control over their sexuality in the last few years has reached a point of such abject foolishness that Akin’s reasoning, as devoid of actual facts (or morality) as it is, is at least consistent with the logic necessary to promote such abhorrent nonsense as actual policy. For opponents of people like Akin we must be clear about what these zealots are actually supporting: the absolute legal control of the over the sexual health and decision making of all women based on simple misogyny.
They believe that women must suffer the consequences of “deciding to have sex”. It does not matter to these policy makers about weather those consequences take the form of unwanted pregnancies (which can cause economically instability, domestic discord, or death), or continue the public health crises regarding STI’s. When faced with the basic fact that many sexual encounters are performed without the appropriate forms of consent, they choose to remain fastidiously aligned with their ideologically based need to control women instead of realizing that their original belief was based on an flawed and awful premise. Furthermore, it is also safe to say that the idea that some women “invite” rape is also a pretty widespread belief amongst many of the finer gentlemen within the Republican Party.
The American Taliban exists, and they are running for office.
August 19th, 2012 at 7:23 pm
“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down”???? Come on, SCIENCE ANYONE?! I really, really wish that people like Todd Akin could understand what it feels like to live with the threat of victimization. His comments come from such a place of ignorance and complete obliviousness that it’s hard to believe we are members of the same species. He must believe that people deserve the terrible things that happen to them – otherwise he couldn’t make these kinds of statements. I think he should visit a place in the world where war rape is occurring (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_rape#Recent_occurrences) and try to gain a better grasp of the topics he’s attempting to address.
August 21st, 2012 at 10:07 am
[...] now you have probably become aware of Missouri Senate Candidate and current congressman Todd Akin and his remarks detailing how women cannot become pregnant as a result of a “legitimate” rape (meaning [...]
August 22nd, 2012 at 10:06 am
[...] those of us who believe in the fundamental right to privacy Todd Akin, Paul Ryan, and Bob McDonnell have each provided a strong lesson in how to properly defend issues [...]
August 24th, 2012 at 4:57 pm
[...] he’s still somehow more progressive on sexual health than Todd Akin or Paul [...]
August 29th, 2012 at 5:53 am
[...] all previous forms of subtlety are gone, and those same zealots now feel free to speak their minds without any discernible filter. The rhetoric of conservative politicians, as well as their actions within the state and federal [...]