MO lawmaker: pregnancy from rape rare.

[Ruges]

So I was reading the USA today newspaper. And it had this article talking about how Rep. Todd Akin, Missouris GOP senate candiate. And how he has questioned whether woman can become pregnant when they're raped.

Now I am a dude but I guess I have read up on the subject a little bit. And this question seemed a little be odd to me. I mean anyone who has even a little bit of knowledge on the subject would know the answer to that is a yes.

But then I read on. And he talks about pregnancy from rape is really rare. Then goes on to say that when a women is raped her body "Has ways to shut that whole thing down."

And at this I was completly shocked. I mean this is some pretty stupid stuff to say. Or was there some study that I missed that proves this stuff true? I think the hardest part for me in all of this is while I can see while some people may believe stuff like this. I hate how people in government leadership positions do. As these religous points of views have no part in government.

As for abortion it just anouther one of those causes for people to rally against. It makes you feel good going against somthing. Personaly I am pro choice let people choose what they want to do with there own lifes as long as it does not affect me. However that is now how I say it to others, as it gives nothing for people to rally to suppport. Instead I always say I am against forced abortions. You should never force a woman to get an abortion if she does not want to. It gives somthing for people to rally to.

[fool]

Call me crazy, but it smacks faintly of misogyny and it's unquestionably dodging a real issue. Very convenient if you rail against abortion that you should not have to deal with the real consequences of a raped woman being forced to give birth to a child... that may well grow up to look a lot like the rapist. On the face of it, I doubt this is anything more than nonsense.

Oh, you're pregnant after being raped? You poor dear. Still, since you have ways to shut the whole thing down I suppose deep down, you wanted it...

[Balthagor]

debates on abortion are not likely to go well, even on our forums. I'll watch this thread and won't hesitate to close it.

unquestionably dodging a real issue

Absolutely correct in this case. I did watch the video and agree his comment is stupid. It's quite possible that "rape does not often result in conception" since even loving eager couples sometimes have difficulty conceiving plus I doubt a rapist concerns himself if the women is fertile, on birth control or of a suitable age to conceive so there are lots of reasons why a rape would not result in conception. But we see stupid ppl everyday...

What concerned me most about this politician was his next sentence. He commented that we (society) should focus more on the criminal and less on the victim, the baby.

He identified the child as the victim and left the women out of the equation entirely. Set aside the question of abortion and note that when asked if "choice X to help a women" would be acceptable he offered and answer that did not even consider anything about the women. That is what I found most disturbing, his disregard for the women.

[Ruges]

debates on abortion are not likely to go well, even on our forums. I'll watch this thread and won't hesitate to close it.

You know I ran a seach for abortion. so I could just add to that thread instead of creating a new one. But could not find one. And as I posted it I thought of you pulling your hair out thinking why is this posted on your forums. /evilgrin

[Fistalis]

Being from Missouri I'm familiar with Mr. Akin and to be honest.. this doesn't surprise me. That is all.

Edit: although TBH his opponent is just as unpalatable to me, I'll probably throw my vote away on whichever 3rd party candidate is on the ticket this year.(like i do most years)

I'd explain my distaste for Mccaskill rather simply. If you call someone living in a neighborhood dominated by illegal immigrants, selling yourself on a path to citizenship for said illegals isn't likely to go over well. Just saying. (and she voted for TARP but thats another can of worms)

[tkobo]

Hes an old guy,saying what he was raised on.Its incredibly stupid,both his still buying into what he was raised on, and his saying it out loud.His interpretation of rape comes from the old beliefs like that of a husband could not by law rape his wife.That she was basically his property,and fully answerable to him.

Two generations back that and other irrational lines of thought were very strong .

The old beliefs about rape,tied to the old belief that women shouldnt enjoy sex,are obviously very ingrained in him.It created a blame the victim mentality for rape, we still see in so many other things today.

Looks like MO is screwed this election.

[Hullu Hevonen]

An total idiot in my opinion, though he's entitled to his

[Fistalis]

Hes an old guy,saying what he was raised on.Its incredibly stupid,both his still buying into what he was raised on, and his saying it out loud.His interpretation of rape comes from the old beliefs like that of a husband could not by law rape his wife.That she was basically his property,and fully answerable to him.

Two generations back that and other irrational lines of thought were very strong .

The old beliefs about rape,tied to the old belief that women shouldnt enjoy sex,are obviously very ingrained in him.It created a blame the victim mentality for rape, we still see in so many other things today.

Looks like MO is screwed this election.

We haven't produced a decent politician since Truman. So its kind of an ongoing screwed

(Ashcroft was the last one that took a post at the national level, enough said.)

[Chesehead]

I'm off the opinion that he simply can't communicate his ideas very well, and given the nature of American Media, his comments get blown out of proportion.

Frankly, why don't we start a thread with all the Biden Gafts from missing what State he was in to saying how blacks will be shackled again..

[Fistalis]

I'm off the opinion that he simply can't communicate his ideas very well, and given the nature of American Media, his comments get blown out of proportion.

Frankly, why don't we start a thread with all the Biden Gafts from missing what State he was in to saying how blacks will be shackled again..

Nah it wasn't a simple misuse of a word though...

CHARLES JACO: What about in the case of rape? Should it be legal or not?

REP. TODD AKIN: Well, you know, people always want to try and make that as one of those things: "Well, how do you—how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question?" It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. 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. You know, I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.

I mean Ignoring the whole "legitimate" comment, the entire sentence is silly. Women don't get preg. from rape because their bodies "has ways to try to shut that whole thing down". I mean are you kidding me? then he goes on to say lets assume my blatantly wrong theory doesn't pan out, well abortion should still be illegal i'm just not gonna come out and say it.

These are the type of people who govern as a whole. He's not an aberration. This is what american politicians look like. That is to say, they form their opinion and therefore policy around entirely baseless ideas and if for some reason that doesn't pan out they try something else based on the same ideology. Never questioning the Ideology itself, and rather than be straight with people they try to avoid answering any question harder than whether or not they wear an american flag pin..


As to the biden gaffes, those are just hilarious. Biden is like that uncle that everyone loves because hes so funny, but no one claims cause he's so crazy.